Speedsters are complicated
by Aedien
Summary: A series of one-shots, a number of which were inspired by late nights reading Flash and Nightwing Comics.
1. The Battle

AN: This was just something that popped into my head and I thought it was funny so I wanted to share. I love Wally and Dick just hanging out being bros 3

"Butt-head."

"Jerk"

Kaldur walked over to the kitchen to find M'gann hovering in the space between the counter and the living room. The Martian was watching the pair sitting on the couch biting her lip and twisting a lock of her hair between her fingers.

"Ginger"

"Squirt"

The Atlantian glanced at their teammates, then back to Miss. Martian, "M'gann, what's going on?"

"Science Geek"

"Computer Nerd"

"I-I'm not sure, I know that these are Earth insults, but….neither of them sounds angry." she turned to him with a confused frown on her lips, "I'm very confused, perhaps there is something about Earth culture that I'm not understanding?"

"Speed freak"

"Mini-Bats"

Aqualad raised one eyebrow, "You are not alone then. I have no idea what is going on here."

"Twinkle toes"

"Birdbrain."

"Good one. Spaz"

"Four-eyes"

"Lint-licker"

"What? Doofus."

"Saw it on a commercial. Goober."

"Butt-sniffer."

"Booger-eater"

"Ewww. Dip-wad."

"Freckle face."

"Oh _that's_ original. Short pants."

"I call 'em like I see 'em. Weirdo."

"Butt-breath."

"Really? Fart Knocker."

"Uh, right back at you. Snot-nose."

"That was weak. Shmuck."

"Okay I was gonna save this one but: Milqutoast."

"What does that mean? Geekburger."

"Fancy word for Sissy. Show-off."

"I like it. Hmmm Wisenheimer."

"I'm glad, I looked it up just for you. Birdbrain."

"You already said that one. Flaming heel."

"Crap. Uhhhh, Putz."

"Scallywag."

M'gann and Aqualad exchanged a glance when Wally leaned in close, apparently to whisper something to Robin.

"What are you a pirate? Dick."

"Hey! _Dipshit!_"

"Heh heh, At least I whispered. It's a legitimate insult. Nitwit."

Kaldur turned and shrugged at M'gann as Kid Flash sat up once more, their voices rising again.

"Bufoon."

"Uhhhh crap….Twit!"

"I can do this all day. Jerkface."

"Mmmmm…"

"I'm waiting."

"…..Damn, What's the score?"

"20/18 my favor."

"No way! How did you get two over me?"

"You said birdbrain twice remember?"

"Frack, looks like you win this time.'

M'gann and Kaldur watched in confusion as Robin laughed and held out his hand; Wally frowned, but sighed and handed the younger boy the remote.

Robin chuckled as he flopped backward into the couch cushions, "Thank you."

Wally sat back beside the younger boy shaking his head, "I need to look up more insults."

Dick smiled as he flipped through the channels, "Well, I have to admit you did have some good ones this time."

The pair chatted happily and Aqualad turned to Miss Martian holding his hands up in defeat, "I have no idea what that was about…"

Miss Martian flashed him a small smile, "Perhaps we should join them?"

Aqualad nodded and the pair crossed the room to where their teammates were making jokes about the programs on the TV and laughing amiably. M'gann sat beside Wally while Kaldur moved to sit beside Robin.

"So what was that all about?"

AN: I hope nobody actually found these insulting, I tried to pick ones that are silly so no one would get hurt feelings after all this was all in good fun. I hope everyone that reads this finds this as amusing as I did.

Just in case you don't know a Flaming-heel is a guy who's convinced he's God's gift to humankind, ultra cool; but, in fact, is a pathetic, trend-chasing wanker. I thought it was kind of a fun one for Dick to use on Wally ^_^


	2. Sleep Eating

Dick was sitting on the floor of the living room at Mt. Justice with his back against the sofa; the television was on but he wasn't really watching it.

Batman had asked him to check on some upgrades to the security programs for the base and the young hero had turned it on to create some white noise while he worked.

There was a tired sigh from behind him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Wally turn his face towards the back of the couch, his arms hugging the throw pillow beneath his head.

As he gazed at his friend he noticed the older boy shudder, he hadn't thought the room was cold, but he knew that as a speedster Wally's normal temperature was far higher than that of a normal person, so he tended to like being warm.

Robin set his laptop aside and stood, he quickly left the room, but he was back a moment later with a blanket in his hands; as gently as he could he spread the blanket over the slumbering speedster then went back to his place to continue working.

The task wasn't difficult and he soon found himself replaying his friend's entrance a short while earlier.

The clock on the wall blinked to ten am and he had just sat down on the sofa to begin working when Wally had suddenly appeared in the room literally swaying on his feet.

"Wally!"

The smaller boy was quickly up and moving, somehow managing to place his laptop on the coffee table as he ran to the other teen's side.

Wally had a hand to his head, running his fingers through his disheveled red hair and glanced at Robin with tired eyes, "Hey Rob."

Dick grabbed the young speedster's arm and guided him towards the couch, "Easy dude," when Wally was safely seated he crouched in front of him, looking up into his eyes.

"You look beat Wally, what happened?"

"Y'know, the usual, Captain Cold and Captain Boomerang decided to pull a heist last night. There were hostages and while Flash and I were dealing with that the Trickster showed up too, then the whole scene was just chaos," he sighed heavily, "once people started panicking it took forever to get things under control."

He put a hand up to cover a yawn, and Dick got a clear view of his arm, the injury was already healing, but the skin was raw and just beginning to scab over, clearly at some point the red head had hit the asphalt hard. Even though this was nothing new, Robin looked at him in concern, though the other boy didn't seem to notice.

"For crying out loud, why can't the bad guys stick to regular business hours? Weather Wizard was acting up too, I haven't slept since the day before yesterday because of them." he growled, "I don't know how you and Bats do it."

Robin chuckled at his friend's complaints, "It helps that we don't have a hyper speed metabolism to maintain. Hold on a sec Wally."

The speedster leaned back against the couch with a sigh, "Yeah, sure."

Robin jogged to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kit; he had tried to hurry, but by the time he had returned the other teen had flopped to his side on the couch gazing toward the television through half-lidded eyes.

Dick sighed, "Are you still awake?"

"mmm….kinda…."

The Boy Wonder smiled fondly at his friend and snatched a pillow from the chair beside the couch, "Here, put your head up for a second."

Wally seemed to struggle with himself for a moment, but eventually he complied and Dick tucked the pillow under his head, then he set down the first aid kid and moved to the other boy's feet and lifted them up onto the couch.

Once Wally was settled Robin retrieved the medical supplies and set about cleaning and bandaging his friend's injury; he worked efficiently and a few minutes later the wound was no longer visible beneath several soft layers of gauze and the kit was repacked.

As he moved to stand he glanced down at the older hero, at some point his eyes had slipped closed and his breathing was deep and even. Robin smiled at Wally and silently turned to take the first aid kit back to the bathroom, assuming the other boy was asleep.

He tucked the white box under his arm and as he began to walk away he heard Wally's voice, soft and slurred with sleep, "Thanks Dick…"

"Don't use my name you dork," he smiled kindly at the red-head, "and don't worry about it, it's what friends are for."

The Boy Wonder wasn't sure if his friend had heard his final statement, he was now definitely asleep, his face peaceful and his body relaxed; Dick sighed at his companion and ran his free hand through his hair before he left the room.

When he had returned he had turned down the television so it was only a soft murmur that drifted throughout the room, then he sat down and got back to work, the speedster sleeping soundly, comfortable in his presence.

Dick blinked and his thoughts returned to the present as he heard the sound of voices approaching. He jumped to his feet, once again setting aside his work, in time to see M'gann, Black Canary, and Superboy enter the room.

The pretty Martian was chattering to their trainer about something or other, but the group paused when they caught sight of an uncharacteristically flustered Robin waving his hands in the air and motioning for them to be quiet.

Black Canary raised one graceful eyebrow and moved toward the boy with her other students following in her wake. She shot Robin a questioning look and he pointed to the sofa.

The buxom blond leaned forward to see what he was pointing at with Superboy on one side and M'gann on the other.

M'gann smiled at the sight, "Oh, Wally." the boy turned over once more pulling one arm from under the pillow, tucking his fist against his cheek and leaning his face onto his hand, "aw, that's sweet."

Even Black Canary's eyes softened as the speedster sighed in his sleep, but as she watched him her gaze quickly landed on the bandages on his arm and suddenly she was all business.

She moved away from the couch motioning for them to follow her, after a short walk she stopped in the adjoining kitchen and stood so she could look out over the living room.

"What happened?"

Robin shrugged, "He showed up here about half an hour ago exhausted, I don't know the details, but apparently he and Flash have been busy the last couple of days. He said something about Weather Wizard then having to deal with a hostage situation involving three of Central City's super villains, apparently they were up all night getting things sorted out."

Black Canary shifted and put a hand on one hip, "Why isn't he sleeping at home?"

Robin's face fell slightly, but he quickly covered it up, "I don't know, he probably came because he knew I was here." Black Canary raised an eyebrow, but chose not to press the issue.

M'gann smiled at the younger teen, "The two of you are very close aren't you?"

The Boy Wonder smiled back at her, "Yeah, this isn't the first time he's done something like this, and I've gone to him more than once for this type of thing."

Black Canary ran a hand through her hair and flicked the golden locks over her shoulder, "It's good that you can rely on each other. It's important in our line of work and that kind of relationship can only help your team work."

Dick chuckled, "Wally and I have a system, Batman and Flash have given us plenty of chances to work together, so that helps the whole team work thing."

"I'm sure that was their intent."

Robin's comm. beeped and he reached up to tap the bud in his ear, "That's probably Flash calling now."

The Boy Wonder grinned in triumph as the voice of another familiar speedster came over the line, "Hello Flash."

Canary chuckled lightly and he grinned, "Yeah he's with me, he's sleeping."

The dark-haired hero glanced over at the place where his friend was resting, "He's fine, just a few scratches, I already took care of him. We're at Mt. Justice right now, but I'm going home tonight so he'll probably stay over at my place since it's the weekend."

Another pause, "Yup, it's fine, I don't mind and Batman won't either. I'll have him call you when he wakes up okay?"

Robin smiled, "No problem, see you later."

He tapped the bud once more ending the connection, "Sounds like they had a rough couple of days, Flash is taking the day off work and he just wanted to call and make sure KF was okay."

Black Canary nodded, "I see, well since he's so worn out, he should take the day off from training, in fact, if even Flash is tired enough to take the day off I think I'll excuse him from training for the weekend. Can you stay with him and let him know when he wakes up?"

Robin gave her a thumbs up, "Sure thing Canary."

"Good," she turned and walked out of the room.

Robin watched her go and when he turned back he saw M'gann standing in the middle of the kitchen with ingredients and utensils floating around her head, "What're you making M'gann?"

The green skinned girl smiled at him over her shoulder, "I thought I'd make some chocolate chip cookies for when Wally wakes up."

"He'll like that."

There was a soft groan from the living room and a disheveled Wally peered over the back of the couch, his fiery hair sticking up at odd angles, "Di' I hear somthin' about cookies?"

M'gann turned to answer him, but the red head had already flopped back down onto the couch, fast asleep. Robin covered his mouth to keep from laughing too loudly, "You'd better make a lot M'gann, even in his sleep Wal registers any mention of food."

Superboy gazed at the back of the couch one eyebrow raised, "I wonder if he sleep eats."

M'gann and Robin turned to look at their friend and a mischievous smiled spread across Robin's face, "There's only one way to find out." he turned back to the Martian, his assigned task forgotten, "Let's get cooking!"


	3. Fast Talkers

The mission was over and everything had ended well, for once recon had been just that, they had gotten the required information and gotten out as planned.

So when the team returned to Mt. Justice they were surprised to find not only Batman, but The Flash waiting for them.

Wally blinked rapidly when he spotted his mentor, but his surprise quickly melted into a brilliant smile and he was by the older man's side in an instant chattering to him at a speed that none of them could follow.

The Flash smiled back at the younger speedster, answering at the same unintelligible speed and patting the teen on the back.

Kid Flash beamed up at his partner, apparently pleased by what Flash had said; with the exception of Robin the rest of the team watched the exchange with either confused awe, mild jealousy, in some cases a mix of the two.

Out of all of the full fledged members of the Justice League The Flash was by far the most amiable, he was kind and courteous, and even when he was angry the team had never heard the man raise his voice, though Wally had assured them that he was perfectly capable of yelling if pushed far enough.

His relationship with his young partner was something to envy, mistakes were met with patient understanding, injuries were tended to with concern and gentle hands, while failures and stupid chances were met with disappointment and advice on how to handle the situation better in the future, followed up with a pat on the back and the offer of something to eat.

Superboy in particular found himself clenching his fists and forcing down the almost violent jealousy in his gut as he watched the warm and familiar way that the speedsters interacted with each other.

The next moment the pair was standing in front of them, and The Flash greeted them all in that casual, friendly way that he had, one hand resting on his protégé's shoulder.

He asked them about the mission and praised them all for a job well done; the dark feelings melted away when faced with his warm personality and the entire team was smiling as he talked to them. He was sincere in his praise and seemed genuinely interested in what they had to say; his demeanor quickly lightened even Superboy's mood.

Robin smiled up at the elder of the two Speedsters, "Everything really went well, but you really need to work with Wally on that whole 'vibrating through solid objects' thing. It would be really useful for recon."

Kid Flash growled at his friend, but The Flash grinned at the younger boy and reached out to ruffle his dark hair, "We're working on it, but he's still growing and changing. It makes things a bit tough, it might take awhile, but Wally'll get it eventually. I have faith in him."

Wally instantly brightened at the comment, smiling up at his uncle with shining eyes, "Thanks Flash!"

There was the sound of a cape being swept aside and the red head glanced at Batman waiting patiently off to the side, "Didn't you say Batman wanted to talk to us about something?"

Artemis leaned in closer to M'gann and Aqualad one elegant eyebrow arched in confusion, "When did he say anything about that?"

The blond had whispered, but her companions heard the question, M'gann shrugged, but Aqualad turned so he could watch her out of the corner of his eye, "I suppose they talked about it when they were….uh, speed talking."

When they looked back Wally and Flash had already zipped over to Batman's side and Robin quickly moved to join the small group, standing beside his mentor and facing his best friend.

Artemis' jaw almost hit the floor as Batman and Robin began conversing with the pair at a speed that none of them could follow, "Okay, the speedy duo I get, but I didn't know Batman and Robin could talk that fast!"

Aqualad watched the small group, intensely interested in the conversation, "They aren't talking quite as fast as Wally and Flash were a moment ago, I can't really make out what they're saying, but I can pick out pieces here and there."

Superboy tilted his head to one side straining his super hearing, "I can hear some of it, but I can't follow what they're talking about."

Robin appeared to be explaining something and Wally nodded seriously as the younger teen spoke.

Artemis crossed her arms over her chest, watching them with interest and mild irritation, "Trying to follow their conversation is giving me a headache. What the heck are they talking about?"

They debated among themselves for several minutes as they tired to catch the thread of the conversation, but before they could get a handle on what was going on the conversation had ended.

The next moment Wally and Flash were walking toward the transporter, waving goodbye to the team.

M'gann laughed as Flash rushed over in a blur of red not even pausing as he shot by, slapping the younger speedster on the shoulder, "I'll race you home!"

Wally grinned, "You're on!"

The older hero chuckled and glanced at Batman over his shoulder as they got into starting position, "Hey, Bats call it for us!"

Artemis blinked, "Did he _seriously_ just call Batman 'Bats' to his face?"

Superboy nodded slowly, "I-I believe he did…."

Batman sighed, but strode over so he was standing beside the pair, "3, 2, 1, Go."

The word was hardly out of his mouth before the speedsters seemed to vanish from the base, the only indication that they hadn't simply disappeared was the sound of the computer announcing their departure.

Robin chuckled, "Flash is almost as much of a kid as Wally is!"

Batman ignored the comment and turned to walk toward the offices on the far side of the base, "Robin, I have some business with Red Tornado. Be ready to go in 5."

The young hero nodded, a grin still plastered on his face, "Okay Batman."

He turned back toward the team and was surprised to find them all standing in a row watching him.

"Uhhh, guys? Is everything okay?"

Artemis, bunt as always, was the first one to respond, "What the hell was that?"

Robin raised an eyebrow, "What was what?"

Kaldur quickly stepped in sensing that the conversation would go faster if he actually explained their confusion, "What Artemis means is: What were the four of you talking about and how were you and Batman able to keep up with them?"

"Oh that," the Boy Wonder laughed, "They slow down for us."

"Yes, but-"

Rob cut him off with the wave of a hand, "It's easy enough to do if you have a good knowledge of grammar, well it's tough at first, but it gets easier with practice."

His companions were all looking at him, confusion clear on their faces, "All you have to do it pick out the important words in the sentence, then with a good enough grasp of grammar, your brain will add in all the other words. For example: Wally might say something like, There's a cat stuck in a tree. All I need to hear is Cat, stuck, and tree to know what he's talking about."

Kaldur had a hand to his chin, listening intently, "Fascinating."

Artemis put her hands on her hips, "That still doesn't explain how you and Batman can talk so quickly."

The dark haired boy smiled, "We do the same thing, but in reverse. We only say the words that are important to the sentence and they infer the rest."

Superboy tilted his head, "That must be why I couldn't understand you."

Robin laughed, "It's okay, I don't think you're the only one. Batman worked it out because it makes it easier for them to focus and they remember the conversations better."

Aqualad chuckled, "Maybe we should try that for mission briefings."

The shared a laugh as Batman returned from his meeting with Red Tornado, Robin smiled and waved to the team as he ran to his mentor's side then stepped through the transporter with him.

Artemis walked away shaking her head, "Sheesh, Wonder Boy is as crazy as the Speed-demon, no wonder they're friends."

AN: I got the idea for this while sitting in my class about English grammar and I figured it would be something that Batman would figure out. It sort of struck me as a neat idea.

Also I have a quick question for everyone. One of you asked me if I was going to continue the previous chapter, (Sleep Eating), I had a couple of ideas, but I hadn't intended to continue it. So my question is: would anyone else like me to write more for that one? Since I got the request I might do it anyway, but I wanted to know how many of you were interested. Thanks and thanks for all the reviews it makes me really happy!


	4. Shoelaces

AN: I actually got the idea for this one from something Bart said while he was talking to Wally and Barry about Speedster safety rules. Lol

Robin and Wally were laughing as Artemis walked into the living room at Mt. Justice, the red head was sprawled out on the couch and Superboy was sitting in a plush chair off to the side, watching the pair, the corners of his mouth turned up in the beginnings of a smile.

The Boy Wonder was curled up on the floor, his back against the couch and his knees propped up against the coffee table. She watched the youngest member of their team curiously, wondering how he could be comfortable in that position, but as she thought back to some of the amazing acrobatics that she had seen the boy perform she realized that she probably shouldn't be surprised.

_That guy is pretty flexible._

The not-quite dynamic duo broke out in laughter once more at the movie they were watching and she saw Conner's eyes crinkle around the edges. She walked around to the back of the couch and leaned on it to see what they were watching.

It looked like some goofy Sci-Fi parody and she found herself laughing lightly as the gold robot's 'virgin alarm' went off.

Wally glanced up at her from his place on the couch, "Hey Blondie," he smiled, "Why do I feel like you have a virgin alarm in that quiver of yours?"

Artemis smirked, "Yeah, except mine has a sharp point and your name on it."

The speedster faked a grimace, "Ouch, don't worry girl, I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole." he grinned at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Funny, I feel the same way about you." she leaned over to look down at him, her long blond hair slipping over her shoulder and dangling down, brushing lightly against the small patch of exposed skin between the waist of his pants and the edge of his shirt that had been pushed up as he had settled on the sofa.

Wally let out an undignified giggle and quickly pulled his shirt down with one hand, batting at her hair with the other, "Ack! Get your hair away from me Rapunzel!"

Artemis grinned evilly, "Ticklish huh?"

The archer grasped her hair and waved at his face, his neck, and his arms, causing the red head to double up with laughter, "You shouldn't have let me in on this little weakness of yours Freckles."

Wally laughed and his hand shot up to push away that hand that was holding her hair, "You suck!"

She attacked him relentlessly as he pleaded with the Boy Wonder to help him out; but Robin just shook his head, laughing at his best friend's predicament.

Suddenly the red head snorted and the room erupted with laughter, Robin kicked his feet lightly against the coffee table as Wally's already flushed cheeks took on a slightly darker shade of pink.

Conner let out a little chuckle, and Artemis grasped the back of the couch, holding onto it for support as she crouched down, laughing so hard that tears came to her eyes.

Even Kid Flash couldn't help the embarrassed chuckle that escaped him, "Not cool Blondie!"

Artemis appeared over the back of the couch once more, speaking through her giggles, "You're the one that's not cool, if I ever had any doubts that you were a dork, you just put them to rest."

Wally huffed at her, crossing his arms over his chest, "I couldn't breathe!" he pushed himself up on his elbows and shot her a mischievous look, "Anyway, I thought you didn't want to touch me."

"I _don't_ want you to touch me," she smirked, "don't forget about my virgin alarm, it's calibrated for speedsters."

"Uh, you touched me, lets keep that straight."

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I made an exception when I realized that I had an opportunity to torture you."

The red head looked up at her with a half-hearted glare, "That's no way to treat a teammate," he turned and elbowed Robin's shoulder, "and you were a big help dude."

The younger hero tilted his head back to grin at the other teen, "Sorry, I don't get involved in lover's spats."

"Dude! That's just wrong!"

Wally glanced at the archer, who was beginning to circle around the couch to join them, "I think that's something that Blondie and I can both agree on."

Robin laughed, "That would be a first."

The red head glanced up at the girl, "I guess it would wouldn't it? That's just too weird."

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Don't get used to it motor-mouth."

The speedster aimed a kick at the girl's rear, but there was no power behind it and she dodged easily; Wally flashed her a cocky smirk, "You don't have to worry about that, it would be disturbing if you started agreeing with me all the time."

"Keep your dirty feet away from me," Artemis raised an eyebrow as she glanced at Wally's feet dangling over the arm rest, "You still wear velcro shoes?" she smirked, "What are you 8?"

The speedster shot her a dirty look, "For your information Princess, Speedsters don't wear shoelaces." he shook one finger at her, "Ever."

She pushed one of his feet off of the couch, but he just scowled at her and moved it back, crossing his ankles. Artemis' eyes narrowed momentarily, then she shrugged and sat on his legs just below his knees, leaning back and propping her elbows up on the back of the sofa.

"So Flash never taught you how to tie your shoes huh?"

Wally uncrossed his ankles distributing her weight more evenly, but he made no move to dislodge the blond, "Don't be a smart ass. It's one of the first things he ever taught me. High speeds and shoelaces just don't mix."

She shot him a doubtful look, and Robin, who was still sitting on the floor nearby, glanced at the pair waiting for Wally to continue.

Kid Flash tucked his arms under his head and regarded the girl sitting on his legs with the same expression all speedsters wore when they felt people were being unbearably slow.

Robin smirked, most of the time they could hide their frustration, but Wally apparently found Artemis' lack of understanding profoundly irritating. The expression passed as quickly as it came and he sighed, "Past 30mph shoelaces _always_ come undone, they're not made for those speeds. It's almost guaranteed that they'll trip you up."

"At that point there's almost no way to catch yourself so you eat shit on the pavement. Road-rash at 200 plus mph. Trust me: not fun."

The archer gazed at him for a moment, considering the information, "Are you speaking from experience?"

Wally raised one eyebrow, "Sort of, I ran with shoelaces once, I tripped, but Flash caught me before I hit the pavement. I flew like 100 yards before he grabbed me. Though, I _have _kissed the asphalt on more than one occasion, potholes are a serious hazard at high speeds, not to mention tree roots, rocks, vines, it's a pretty long list."

Artemis laughed, "No wonder you're such a klutz."

The speedster's legs twitched upward, bouncing the blond, "Yeah, well you're not exactly graceful yourself, I'm usually moving at super speeds when I trip, what's your excuse?"

Artemis leaned back, putting a hand to her chest, "I am the epitome of grace and coordination, unlike you, you're a bull in a china shop."

"And you're full of bull. I seem to remember having to catch a certain 'graceful, coordinated' blond because she slipped and fell out of a tree."

Artemis opened her mouth to reply, but Robin cut her off with a chuckle, "Are you gonna talk through the whole movie? Sheesh, you two really do need to get a room!"

Both of the older teens started to protest, but Robin cut them off with another laugh, "Anyway what happened to you two not wanting to touch each other? You look pretty cozy right now."

Wally threw his hands up, "She's the one who keeps touching me! I was just laying here, she's the one who decided to sit _on me!_"

The archer looked down at him with one eyebrow raised, "Maybe if you didn't hog the couch-"

"Excuses, excuses," Wally shot her a mischievous look, "You know you just like touching me."

Artemis grimaced and started to retort, when soft laughter reached them from the off to the side, all three teenagers turned to see Superboy watching them a hand over his mouth.

"Supey!"

"Robin is this what you meant when you said that they argue like an 'old married couple'?"'

"Rob!"

Robin nodded to Superboy, then turned to his friend with a grin and a shrug, "How about we just watch the movie ok?"

The red head glared at the other boy, before settling back into the couch and turning his moody gaze back to the screen, "Go back a bit will you Boy Wonder, we missed some of the best bits."

"Yeah, yeah, who's fault is that?"

Wally jiggled his legs again, trying to encourage Artemis to move, but the blond stubbornly settled back, shooting him a self-satisfied grin as she propped her feet up on the coffee table beside Robin.

The speedster glared at her half heartedly, but the film way playing again, so he turned back to the giant screen with a resigned sigh.

Robin could tell what his friend was thinking, but he chuckled, keeping his eyes fixed on the movie, a few minutes later all annoyance was forgotten and the room was filled with laughter once more.

Dick chanced a glance back at the teens on the couch and grinned at what he saw; Wally had one hand hanging off the couch and draping over his shoulder, but the other was resting on his stomach. Artemis had relaxed a bit and one of her hands was resting on the speedster's belly beside his own, their fingertips just centimeters away from touching.

The younger hero turned his attention back to the movie, rolling his eyes, _When are they going to get a clue? So much for being older and more experienced. _

AN: See? I'm not an Artemis hater (not entirely anyway), I would actually ship Wally/Arty if they acted more like this….

BTW I am working on a second part to Sleep Eating, but I might be a little while, I hadn't originally intended to continue it so I only have a few half formed ideas, but there will be one as requested. In the meantime, I hope everyone enjoys this one.


	5. If You Need Me

AN: I really hope everyone likes this one because it took a super long time to get it just right and it also ended up being a lot longer than expected. Let me know what you think! BTW I am still working on all of my other stories but I've been really swamped lately so it might be awhile, but I hope to have the next Heroes Need Heroes this weekend.

A red and yellow blur zipped through the dark streets of Star City, running up buildings and down alleys, systematically searching the city from east to west.

Wally glanced up at the large clock on the front of the city hall building as he zipped by and sighed. It was just past one am, so he knew that his target was almost certain to be out roaming the city.

It was just a matter of figuring out where.

He turned down another ally and paused when he heard the sounds of a struggle and the unmistakable pop of gunfire. Kid Flash listened closely, following the noise of battle to its source.

Less than a minute later he turned another corner and was mildly surprised to find Green Arrow surrounded by a dozen or so street thugs. Several of them were already knocked out on the pavement, but there were plenty more, all with their guns pointed at the archer.

Wally grinned as he put on a little burst of speed, zipping from one punk to the next dismantling the weapons in a matter of seconds.

He was standing behind them with a self-satisfied smirk on his face before the first piece even hit the ground. He snickered as the men stared in confusion at their now empty hands and the parts of their weapons littered across the ally.

Kid Flash locked eyes with the older hero and gave him a wink; Green Arrow took his sudden appearance in stride, well accustomed to super powered beings and their tendency to pop up out of nowhere.

A raised eyebrow was the only sign that he was surprised by the speedster's appearance, but it was quickly replaced with a cocky grin and a slight nod in greeting.

Wally nodded back then put his fingers to his lips, letting out a shrill whistle that echoed in the small space startling the confused criminals. They all whipped around to search for the source of the noise.

The speedster grinned as their eyes landed on him, "What's up guys? Nice night for a run don't you think?"

He sped over to one of the men and threw him over his shoulder and into the wall, "So what do you say you start running?"

Green Arrow let out a raucous laugh as he sprang into action, "You're just like your mentor Kid, always full of bad jokes."

Wally grinned at the older man, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Good, because it was."

Kid Flash smirked and moved to stand back to back with the older hero, "Flash'll be happy to hear that. So what did you do to piss these guys off?"

"Nothing much, just interrupted their drug deal," the blond man flipped his bow out, knocking one of their attackers in the chin.

"Oh is that all? Well, let make this quick, I'm starving."

Ollie laughed, "It's almost scary how alike you two are; it's going to be interesting when you finally join the league Kid."

"It will be if the rest of you can keep up!"

The pair moved forward together, Wally was almost surprised by how easy it was to work with Green Arrow, but it only took a second for him to realize why.

Ollie was accustomed to fighting beside the man who had trained him, and he had been on enough missions with Roy that the archer's fighting style was familiar.

A ferocious grin spread across his face, it had been quite a while since he last fought beside his red headed friend and it felt almost nostalgic to be fighting beside an archer once more.

It wasn't long before the men were strewn about the ally unconscious, Green Arrow put his bow on his back and began collecting the arrows that were still useful as he moved toward the red head.

Wally dusted off his hands and pulled a protein bar from the compartment on his wrist.

Once Ollie had collected anything useful and secured the thugs, he turned to the younger hero and held out his hand, "Thanks for the assist twerp."

Wally took the offered hand and shook it, "No prob GA, I was in the neighborhood."

Green Arrow leaned against the wall, "Pretty good timing, but why are you here anyway? Is Flash with you?"

Kid Flash shook his head, "Nope, I'm solo tonight. I came to see Speed-ah, Red Arrow, is he lurking around here?"

"He should be around somewhere." the older hero shrugged, "We don't really spend much time together these days."

Wally frowned and kicked at a pebble, watching as it rolled underneath a nearby dumpster, "Yeah….. I think he just needs some time to blow off some steam you know?"

Ollie shrugged again, feigning indifference, "He's not a kid, he's free to do what he wants. I wish it hadn't come to this, but he had to spread his wings sometime."

It was Wally's turn to shrug, "Even I don't always understand him, but I know he's got reasons for his choices, same as me. Anyway, do you know where he likes to hang out?"

Ollie put a hand to his chin, "Check the roof tops over on the north west side of town, there are a few all night diners in that area that he likes to frequent."

Kid's eyes lit up, "Ooo, hey anything good?"

"Juan's Tacos is the best."

"Oh man I could totally go for some tacos." he rubbed his stomach in anticipation, "Well, I'm gonna see if I can track him down. Thanks for the tip GA."

"Sure…tell the kid I said hi."

"You got it." the speedster gave him a thumbs up and zipped off into the night.

Green Arrow smiled fondly after the teenager before turning back to his captives with a heavy sigh.

Red Arrow sighed and brought his binoculars up to his eyes with one hand while reaching for his coffee cup with the other. He took a long drink of the beverage and grimaced when he realized it had gone cold.

With a huff he set the cup back down on the ledge and glared irritably through his binoculars, but his annoyance was quickly forgotten when a red and yellow blur crossed his line of vision.

Acting on instinct he tracked the object before his brain even had time to register what it was that he was looking at.

As soon as the realization hit him he set down his binoculars, then stepped up onto the ledge of the building, a grin spreading across his face.

He cupped his hands around his mouth, taking a deep breath so he could project his voice, "Yo, KF!"

He saw the blur that was his friend waver slightly; the other hero made a hard turn without slowing down and Roy could see the smoke resulting from the soles of his shoes sliding on the asphalt.

The next instant Roy heard the unmistakable sound of a speedster's arrival and he turned to greet his friend, his grin widening.

The archer laughed when he caught sight of Wally; the red head had a churro sticking out of his mouth and his arms were loaded down with enough bags to feed an army, a drink in one hand and a second churro in the other.

Somehow the younger red head managed to smile around the treat in his mouth.

Roy laughed harder, earning himself an annoyed grunt from Wally, "Sorry pal, you'd laugh too if you could see yourself."

The speedster shrugged and set down his bags and his drink, both of his churros disappearing in an instant; Roy was forced back a step when the other teenager suddenly tackled him with a hug.

"Hi Roy!"

The taller hero chuckled lightly and put his arms around his friend's shoulders, patting him on the back, "Hey Wal, it's been awhile."

"Too long." Red Arrow blinked and suddenly the speedster was holding a taco out to him, "Want one? I got enough to share."

Roy raised an eyebrow at the bags at the shorter boy's feet, "I'd say you did, do they even have anything left?"

Wally pushed the food into his friend's hands with a laugh, "Very funny." he grabbed a taco for himself, "Eat what you want, I already had like thirty of them over at the restaurant."

The older teen chuckled as he unwrapped the taco and took a bite, "Thanks man, I'm guessing you don't have any coffee in there though huh?"

Kid Flash tilted his head at him in confusion, "Coffee? That doesn't go with tacos. I guess I could go get some…."

Roy laughed, "Don't worry about it Wally, I was just being difficult because my coffee went cold."

Wally grinned, "Oh, is that all?"

He disappeared in a streak of red and returned a second later with a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. "There, how's that?"

Red Arrow accepted the cup and took a sip of the steaming beverage, "Just what I needed. Thanks Wal."

The younger red head took a large bite of his food and grinned, "No problem bro, I know you get cranky without your caffeine fix."

"Ha. Ha. Don't push your luck Kid."

Wally gave him a cheeky look then plopped down on the roof among his snacks, "Whatever dude, I call 'em like I seem 'em."

Roy raised an eyebrow, but he sat beside his friend, leaning back on his hands, "It's good to see you, but what brings you to Star City?"

"I came to visit my pal. For some reason I missed your ugly mug, so I thought I'd come by and see how you were doing."

Red Arrow aimed a playful punch at the younger boy's shoulder knowing full well it would never connect, "I missed you too you geek. I haven't seen you since the thing at The Hall of Justice…."

Wally set the taco he was eating in his lap and sighed, "Yeah….have you seen Ollie since then?"

"No, well-" Roy ran a hand through his short red hair, "Just in passing, you know, on patrol, but I haven't talked to him."

Kid Flash finished the taco in his hands and focused his gaze up at the stars that were barely visible beyond the city lights, "I…ran into him on the way here."

He felt Roy's eyes on him so he continued, looking back at his bags and absentmindedly unwrapping another taco, "He had his hands full putting an end to a drug deal so I helped him out….I told him I was looking for you…." he glanced up at the older boy through his bangs, "He asked me to tell you 'Hi.'"

"Ah, thanks."

They sat for a moment in an uneasy silence; Wally absently working his way through his meal, while Roy looked out over the city sipping his coffee.

After his fifth taco Wally turned his eyes back to the taller boy, "So…how've you been?"

Roy turned to look at him, blinking slowly, "It's, y'know, different." Wally tilted his head at him, his expression urging him to continue, "I dunno Wal, it's hard to describe, things are really different now."

Wally shrugged, "I have no idea what you're trying to say bro."

"Shit Wally, I don't know either, it's just different okay?"

The speedster grunted in annoyance, "Like how Roy?"

"Well, I moved out of Ollie's place." surprise crossed over Wally's face, but he made no comment, "I got an apartment, a job, I choose my own missions. I still patrol every night. In some ways it's the same, Ollie and I still split patrols the same way that we used to, I think it's just a habit, but we don't talk anymore….but I guess that's my fault isn't it?"

The younger red head sighed, "You both are known for being hot heads, but I don't think that any one person is at fault for the way things went down dude."

Roy laughed, but there was no humor in it, "Then you're the only one who thinks so. I keep getting calls from Kaldur and Canary and some of the other JLA members who think I overreacted; that I should try talking to Ollie"

Wally shrugged once more, "I don't think you were in the wrong, for a few seconds I really thought about following you, and for speedsters a second is a _really_ long time. Anyway, what goes on between you and GA is your business. By the way Rob feels the same way."

"Hn, ….thanks."

They sat in silence for several long minutes, their supply of tacos dwindling with each passing moment. Finally Roy laid back on the roof, tucking his arms beneath his head and turning his gaze on the other teen.

"So why didn't you come with me?"

Kid Flash sighed and leaned back beside his friend brushing crumbs from his uniform, "It just didn't feel right for me. I was upset sure, but Flash is my family. I owe him and my Aunt a lot, they're always there for me, they always believed in me even when it felt like no one else did. I was mad, but I figured if he hadn't said anything to me then there must have been a reason and that he had earned the benefit of the doubt."

"So…"

Wally tilted his head toward Red Arrow, "So what?"

"Were you guys able to work things out?"

Kid Flash smiled up at the stars, "Yeah, it took a bit of effort, but we got past it." he put one hand over the symbol on his chest, "Of course it helps that he's my hero, not just as The Flash, but as my Uncle too."

Roy chuckled lightly, "Damn, you practically define hero-worship Fleet Feet."

"Stuff it _Speedy_."

Red Arrow turned to glare at the younger hero and their eyes locked for a moment before their stalemate degenerated into a fit of laughter.

After their laughter had subsided they fell into a comfortable silence; Roy settled back once more, with his eyes closed while Wally finished off the rest of his meal and cleared away the trash.

The speedster quickly returned to his friend's side, laying back beside him with a contented sigh.

This time it was Red Arrow who broke the silence fist, opening his eyes and turning to watch Wally, "So, How did you guys, y'know, get over it?"

Wally rolled over onto his side with a small smile on his face, "After the thing at Cadmus Flash and I talked for a long time. About everything, he's easy to talk to, he doesn't tell me that I'm was being immature or talk to me like a kid. He understood why I was angry, and hurt. I could tell he felt really bad about not telling me about everything and he apologized _a lot_. He promised that he'd never lie to me again."

He took a deep breath, his gaze returning to the skyline, "I had to apologize too, he was really upset when they found out that we had gone off to deal with Cadmus ourselves. It's not often I see him that shaken up, but in a way it felt good to be reminded that he cares enough to be that worried about me. I really couldn't stay mad at him after that."

"Shit Wal, you two could be the poster boys for mentor-protégé relationships." Roy propped himself up on one elbow, "You're like a freaking TV special."

The younger red head laughed, "You're just jealous! Anyway, I can't take the credit for making things work, I think it's mostly him."

Roy looked down at the roof, absently flicking a pebble across the building, "Maybe I am a little envious….if only all relationships could go as well as yours."

Wally shrugged, "Even we have our moments when we don't get along, we just have them at home in private."

"So what about you? Have you thought of letting GA off the hook? Just this once?"

"You too Wally? Crap, everyone fu-"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down buddy, I was just asking. Look man, I'm not trying to judge you, but would you be willing to hear me out? It might help to get a new perspective on things."

Roy threw his hands up in the air, "Aw hell, why not? I've gotten everyone else's two cents. Go for it."

"I just think you need to weigh the good with the bad. Okay sure, we got screwed buy the League, but at least he told you about all the cool stuff that's up there. Even Rob and I didn't know the details."

Red Arrow grunted noncommittally and Wally took it as permission to continue, "On top of that they did let us have our own team, and they even gave us our own headquarters, I think they did that because they felt bad about trying to fool us. An I've got to admit, I really like being a part of the team."

Roy got to his feet and brushed himself off, "So, what? Are you here to try to get me to change my mind?"

Wally smirked and followed the other teen's example, "No, don't get me wrong Roy, I would love for you to be on the team. You, me, and Dick working together would be beyond epic. We'd show the rest of them how a team should really function, but…" he paused and rubbed the back of his head,

"I'm pretty sure you'd hate it."

Roy raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

"Yeah. I know Kaldur annoys you sometimes with his mild-mannered attitude, M'gann is way, _way_ too perky for you, I guarantee you and Supey would piss each other off, and Artemis….well, do I even need to say why you wouldn't get along with her?"

The older red head chuckled, "At least _you_ understand."

Wally smiled, "Rob does too, that's why we've decided not to hound you about it, but….we really missed you bro, especially that first night, we should have asked you to come with us."

Roy reached out and ruffled the shorter teen's hair, "You're just saying that because I wasn't around to save your sorry ass."

"Hey! We did just fine!"

Red Arrow chuckled, "Yeah, after you got captured and had to be rescued by an unstable, 16-week old Superman clone."

Wally mumbled something he didn't catch, but he ignored it and put his arm around the speedster's neck, pulling him against his side, "I'm glad you're okay Kid. I heard the call go out on the radio when the JLA decided to go after you guys, Bats and your Uncle were on the warpath, they called in their friends and all the other available leaguers. All of them were ready to tear that place apart to get you back. I was worried, but I had faith in you."

He looked down at Wally and smiled, "Besides, I knew you and Dick would take care of Kaldur and I figured you'd be insulted if I showed up with them to pick you guys up."

Wally grinned, "You don't have to explain yourself, I get it." he put his arm around the older boy's shoulders, the position was a little awkward, but Roy didn't seem to mind, "I just wish you had been standing there with us as we got chewed out. It was an awesome moment dude, we stood up to Batman, Flash, and Aquaman, you would have been proud of us."

Roy pulled the other boy into a head lock and rapped the top of his head with his knuckles, Wally tried to wriggle away, but he was laughing, and the older teen couldn't help but smile, "I am proud of you squirt, both of you."

He eased up on his friend allowing him to right himself, his arm never leaving the other hero's shoulders, he winced when the speedster half heartedly punched his side, but when he looked down the other boy was smiling.

"Thanks Roy."

"No problem."

Wally leaned against the larger male, lifting his inside foot and crossing it over his other ankle, Roy tilted slightly as he took on the boy's weight, but he didn't try to dislodge the other red head.

"Hey Roy?"

"Yeah?"

Wally looked up at him, his bright green eyes shining in the neon lights, "If you ever need help with anything, you know, if you get into trouble, or there's something you can't handle on your own, give us a call okay? We've got your back, I'll be there in a heartbeat," his grin widened, "literally."

Roy nodded, returning the smile, "You got it, there's no one I'd rather have with me."

The Speedster was practically radiating happiness and the older red head chuckled, "That goes both ways you know."

Wally tilted his head at him, he gave the boy a little squeeze as he elaborated, "I may not want to be part of the team, but if you need my help, for anything, give me a call and I'll come running. Though I can't be as quick as you."

Kid Flash laughed, "Don't worry I won't hold it against you. Thanks Roy, I really appreciate it, I know Dick will too."

"Well someone's got to look after you two."

"You're one to talk."


	6. Iris

Barry wrinkled his nose as the smell of chemicals reached him making his sinuses burn; he glanced over at his wife who was sitting at the other end of the couch absorbed in painting her nails.

Chemical smells usually didn't bother him, he was a scientist after all, but in his lab he had masks and fans to suck the fumes out of the room and, as he watched Iris daintily run the brush over her nails, painting them a red that matched his costume, he couldn't help but wonder how she could stand it.

He sighed internally, they had been married for several years now, and though he was still as madly in love with her as he had always been, he was still discovering that there were things about living with a woman that he had not really been prepared for.

He had known about the usual things, like don't leave the toilet seat up, don't leave wet towels on the floor, dirty clothes go straight into the hamper, but those were the stereotypes (no matter how true they were, they were stereotypes none the less) that every man was aware of.

Barry had also known that by marrying Iris he was also, essentially, marrying her family; the knowledge didn't bother him and he liked Iris' family which was why there was currently a 15 year old boy sleeping away his Sunday afternoon upstairs the in room they had given him.

He smiled a bit at the thought of his nephew, in marrying Iris he had never expected to gain a sidekick-no partner, he corrected himself.

Wally was a good kid and he was a definitely a nice bonus that came with his wife, the boy was a hyperactive ball of sunshine and he never failed to make Barry smile and he knew that there were few people that Iris loved as much as she loved Wally. A point that she had made abundantly clear to Barry when he had told her that he was going to be teaching their nephew the ropes of being a hero.

His thoughts drifted back to his wife as she switched hands and he marveled a bit at her ability to paint her nails with her left hand even though she was right handed and her nails were only half dry.

Barry contemplated the pretty red headed woman as she continued her task; though Jay had tried to prepare him for domestic life, there were quite a few details about sharing a home with a female that he had left out.

He couldn't help but think there really should be a book for this kind of information.

Something like: The Role of a Man in Marriage or The Things Every Husband Should Know.

Like the fact that he was constantly on call for spider-squashing duty, opening jars, reaching things on high shelves, and taking out the trash.

There could be a whole chapter on the bathroom alone, he had known before hand that he should always make sure to put the cap back on the toothpaste, but there were plenty of other things that he had never even considered.

Like the 20 or so bottles of soaps and creams that each had their own purpose and their own place. He had yet to figure out why Iris needed four different types of soap in the shower, but her skin was smooth and soft so he figured she was doing something right and didn't question it.

He also didn't understand the need for a "loofah," as Iris called the brightly colored ball of fluff that hung off the shower head, when a washcloth worked just as well. Not to mention all the things on the counter, there was the pretty soap dispenser that matched their shower curtain and had to be refilled every week, why they couldn't simply buy the ones that came filled he would never know.

Plus there was the basket filled with make-up and dozens of bottles of brightly colored nail polish and he didn't even want to think about the medicine cabinet, there were apparently many things in there that he had never known that he needed until he had gotten married.

Iris shifted positions to begin working on her toes and noticed him looking at her, she smiled and winked at him as she settled her feet on the sofa, "Hey handsome, what're you up to?"

Barry felt his heartbeat speed up, mirroring her expression without realizing it, "Nothing much Honey," he nodded toward her nails, "Nice color."

She graced him with another smile and warmth spread in his chest, "It's my favorite color, it's even better next to yellow."

Barry chuckled, "Oh? I'll have to keep that in mind."

She giggled and went back to her nails and his mind began to wander once more.

The fastest man alive gazed lovingly at his wife, of all the things that he had learned about living with a woman the most important one was that he couldn't live without her.

In fact he couldn't help but wonder how he had ever managed to get by without her in the first place.

There were so many things about living with a female that he had never known that he needed, like how much more comfortable he was at night with her pressed against his side, or the way she said good morning, or the warmth of her smile as she looked up at him and told him to have a good day at work.

He simply loved the way the scent of her perfume lingered in the air when she passed through a room, light and fragrant and uniquely Iris.

Iris was stunning in so many ways, she made breakfast in the morning, packed him a lunch, and made dinner every night; how she made the time to cook enough for him and, more often than not their black hole of a nephew, he had no idea. Yet she always managed it with a smile on her face, happily making sure that they were taken care of and had plenty to eat.

He even loved the way she cleaned, swaying her hips slightly and humming to herself as she washed the dishes.

She was made even more special by the calm demeanor with which she accepted the other side of his life and his sense of duty to that life. Iris was always understanding, and Barry was amazed at her graciousness in sharing him with the rest of the world.

Iris didn't just accept that side of his life, she was proud of him for it and she always waited patiently for him to return, greeting him with open arms. The gentle tenderness with which she tended his wounds or bundled him off to bed after a long mission simply made it that much sweeter.

He knew he would never find another woman like her if he searched the whole world.

A contented sigh escaped his lips and Iris looked over at him, "Barry?"

The Fastest Man Alive smiled at her as he moved closer to her, putting his hands on the arm rest behind her so he could hover over the woman he intended to spend the rest of his life with, "I love you so much."

Iris beamed at him as she set aside the bottle of nail polish and reached up to cup his face in her hands, "I love you too Fleetfeet, but what brought this on?"

Barry lowered his head and planted a kiss on her cheek, "Just thinking about how much you mean to me."

The pretty red head wound her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to steal a kiss, "You're sweet."

"You're wonderful."

"Ugh get a room you two."

Both adults turned to look toward the stair case where a certain teenager stood, in a t-shirt and boxers, red hair messy from sleep, rubbing at his so-green eyes with a look of mild disgust on his face.

Barry smiled, the scene making him think back to similar mornings when Wally was younger, he hadn't changed much in that regard, the boy was still adorable, though grumpy when he first woke up.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty, about time you rolled out of bed, it's almost one."

Iris poked her husband in the ribs, "Don't tease him Barry, you know he had a late night."

Barry pouted playfully, "You always take his side Iris."

She turned a loving smile on her nephew pointedly ignoring her husband, "Good morning Sweetheart I saved some breakfast for you, I just need to heat it up."

The grumpy teen's face lit up as he turned his eyes on her, "You're the best, thanks!"

Barry grumbled as Iris disentangled herself from him and walked around the back of the couch to wrap her arms around Wally's shoulders and kiss him on his forehead, "Go get dressed while I get your breakfast ready."

"Okay Aunt Iris."

Barry sighed as she turned and disappeared into the kitchen, "You have horrible timing Kid."

Wally snorted and flashed him a cheeky grin, "What about you? There's an impressionable teenager in the house and you start fooling around on the couch? Some roll model."

"Oh yeah?" in an instant Barry was behind his partner, pulling him into a headlock and ruffling his already messy hair, "Don't forget who the couch belongs to kiddo."

"Hey, let go!"

They wrestled playfully for a few moments before Iris' voice drifted over to them, "Barry stop harassing the poor boy, and Wally I told you to go get dressed before you eat."

Both males immediately separated, though the knew she couldn't see them.

"Okay Iris."

"Yes Aunt Iris."

The speedsters turned to each other and laughed, Barry ruffled his nephew's hair once more for good measure, "The fastest people alive and she can make us stop in our tracks at any time. She's quite a lady."

He turned as Wally zipped to the bottom of the stairs, "Yup, Aunt Iris is something alright." he grinned mischievously at his uncle, "There's just one thing you can't forget Uncle Barry."

The older speedster raised and eyebrow, "And what's that?"

Wally's grin widened, "That she was _mine _first."

Barry snorted, "You already gave me the 'don't hurt my Aunt or else' speech you twerp, now go do as she says."

His protégé shrugged and disappeared up the steps once more, Barry turned and made his way to the kitchen shaking his head.

"I don't know how you do it Honey."

Iris turned away from the stove with a confused look on her face, "Do what?"

Barry jerked a thumb over his shoulder, "He's so grouchy when he first wakes up, I know he was playing just now, but he's a handful. I don't know how you handle him so easily, I'm his favorite hero, he looks up to me and he's still a pain, even his mom has a hard time with him in the morning."

Iris gave him a grin that matched her nephew's, "He's a teenager Barry. You can be a handful too, I just know how to deal with my boys."

The blond was about to reply, but a gust of wind blew through the kitchen and in the same second Wally was standing beside Iris, his arms around her shoulders, "What's for breakfast Aunt Iris?"

Barry raised an eyebrow, "You realize that it's actually lunch time right kiddo?"

Wally stepped back from his Aunt and waved off the comment, "Details, details."

The older speedster rolled his eyes.

A few minutes later they were sitting around the table, Wally eating a mountain of pancakes with eggs and bacon, while Iris and Barry ate the lunch she had made for them.

It wasn't long before the younger speedster was done, and he tossed his dishes in the sink then zipped back up the stairs, Iris didn't have a chance to call him back before he reappeared with his shoes on, "Well, I gotta get going-"

He stopped when Iris fixed her eyes on him, "Hold it right there young man, before you go anywhere I want you to put your dishes away."

Wally had the decency to look embarrassed, "Oops, sorry."

In the next instant the dishes had been rinsed and put in the dishwasher and Wally was standing before them once more, "All done, I gotta get going, I'm supposed to meet Rob in ten minutes."

Iris stood with her hands on her hips, "You've got plenty of time Wally and you're not leaving until I get a few details. I want to know where you're going, if you'll be home for dinner, and if you're staying here tonight."

"Aww Aunt Iris!" the teenaged speedster whined though he was smiling, "Gotham for a movie, maybe, and yes."

Iris' eyes softened, "Alright then, be careful and stick with Robin. Do you have enough money?"

"Yeah, I got my allowance yesterday and Uncle Barry gave me some cash too."

Iris put a hand on her husband's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "Good, now if you're sleeping here how about you bring Robin back for dinner? If you like you he can spend the night, you two haven't done that for awhile."

"That's a great idea, thanks Aunt Iris!"

"One more thing before you go Wally."

Wally tilted his head at her, "Yeah?"

Iris held out her arms, "I need a hug and a kiss goodbye."

The younger red head happily obliged, hugging his aunt and kissing her on the cheek, then rushing over in a blur to hug his uncle, "Well I better get going, see you later!"

The couple watched as Wally disappeared out the back door heading for the well hidden zeta beam that would take him to Gotham.

Iris turned back to her husband and leaned down catching his lips with her own, Barry let his arms wander up to wrap around her waist as she leaned into him.

Eventually they parted and he looked up at her with a smile, "What was that for?"

"For taking care of him, it was nice of you to give him money Barry."

The blond shrugged and stood, pulling his wife against his chest, "He spends almost all his money on food I thought it would be nice for him to have some cash to have fun with his friends too. Besides," he tilted his head down to press his lips against hers, "the kid practically lives here, I figured I might as well give him an allowance too."

"You're the best husband a girl could ask for you know that Barry Allen?" she reached up, cupping his face with her hands, "Now, the boys won't be back for hours, so how about we finish our conversation upstairs?"

Barry's grinned and he scooped her up into strong arms, immediately whisking her up the stairs and to their bedroom.

As he kicked the door shut all he could think was how lucky he was.

AN: I honestly…..have absolutely no idea where this came from…I suddenly just thought "I love Barry and Iris, they're such a cute couple" and then this came about. It was originally intended to be much shorter and when I started I hadn't planned on including Wally, but somehow that cute little ginger worked his way in. I dunno, I have no excuse for this, but hopefully it was at least interesting since I had fun writing it.


	7. Friends Know

Dick stared blankly out at the ocean, his body language was relaxed, but his muscles were tense and his eyes were filled to the brim with the conflicting emotions and dark memories that were circling in his mind in an endless loop.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice his friend's approach until the speedster sat down beside him.

Robin tucked his legs up against his chest, rested his arms on his knees and leaned forward to put his chin on his arms. His frown deepened, he had come all the way out here to be alone with his thoughts and he wasn't at all sure how he felt about the speedster's presence.

On the one hand he was upset that the older hero had invaded his privacy; he wanted to be angry with Wally and tell him to leave, but on the other hand, the speedster was warm, even though they weren't actually touching he could feel the heat radiating off the other hero, and his presence was comforting.

He had been certain that Bruce was the only one who knew where he was going, but the man respected his need to be alone so he doubted that his mentor had told Wally where to find him.

In fact he had asked Batman to tell the team that he wouldn't be available to go on any missions with them this weekend so he wouldn't be disturbed by their concerns.

However unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for him, Wally knew better.

That meant Wally had been searching for him at least since Batman had informed the team of his absence early that morning.

Dick glanced at the red head out of the corner of his eye; there was a light sheen of sweat on his face but he wasn't breathing hard, in fact he was halfway through eating an apple.

Kid Flash sat silently at his side gazing out at the horizon where the sun was beginning to set. Robin sat there for several long moments gazing at the other teen, unsure of what to say.

Wally finished his snack and tossed the core to the seagulls that were clustered further down the beach then, without a word the speedster reached into a bag that was on his other side, Dick raised an eyebrow wondering how he had missed it, but he said nothing.

The speedster produced a thermos and two cups and Dick watched as he poured two steaming cups of hot chocolate then held one out to him.

Robin gingerly took the drink from him and started to bring it to his lips, but he paused when Kid Flash held up his index finger. He looked back at the other boy, slightly confused, but it was short lived when the speedster held up a bag of marshmallows and smiled softly.

"Can't have coco without marshmallows."

It was the first time the older teen had spoken since he had arrived, his voice was gentle and relaxed and Dick felt some of the tension leaving his shoulders.

Wally reached over plopping a small handful of the sugary puffs into his cup, then did the same with his own hot chocolate, before he turned back to digging in his bag.

Dick looked down at the marshmallows that were already melting into a white foam in his coco and his eyes softened.

There was the creaking of something plastic being opened so he turned his attention back to the speedster, Wally had opened two large containers filled with chocolate chip cookies and set them on the ground in front of them.

The speedster leaned back on one hand and grabbed a cookie with the other, Dick followed his example and picked up a cookie, "Did you make these?"

Wally turned and smiled at him, "Nope, Aunt Iris did." his smile faltered a bit, "I told her I was worried that you were feeling down so she made these for me to give to you."

Robin looked down at the containers, "She made a lot."

The red head laughed, and Dick smiled at the sound, "Yeah, I guess she's gotten too used to feeding me and Uncle Barry, she always makes a ton when she cooks."

The Boy Wonder closed his eyes and bit into the treat, "It's delicious, tell her thanks for me okay?"

"You got it."

They were silent for quite awhile, taking in the crisp sea air and the sound of the waves, looking out over the ocean while they ate.

Dick watched his friend out of the corner of his eye, but if the speedster noticed, he didn't give any indication. When Wally had arrived Robin had come very close to demanding to be left alone, but the longer he was in the other teen's presence the more he appreciated having the older hero by his side.

Normally the speedster wouldn't sit quietly for more than a few minutes, but at the moment Wally seemed perfectly content to just stay by his side. Wally already knew about his past, so there was no need to ask what was bothering him.

Anyone else would have wanted him to talk about it, would have told him that it was for the best to let out the things he was feeling, but the red head didn't press him to speak and Dick was immeasurably grateful for that.

He glanced down at the rapidly dwindling pile of cookies and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, he turned to face his companion, "How did you know where I was?"

The red head looked over at him as he reached for another cookie, "I didn't."

Dick did the same, "Then how did you find me?"

Wally snorted, "I _looked._" Robin raised an eyebrow at him so he elaborated, "You're not the only one who knows how to investigate Boy Wonder."

Dick looked dubious and Wally sighed dramatically, "When Bats told us you were going to be gone for the weekend I thought it was weird, he just said you were busy, but unless he pulls you for a mission you usually call me yourself."

Robin's eyes widened slightly as his friend continued, "That meant that either you were sick or there was something bothering you that you didn't want to talk about…." the red head turned away looking troubled and Dick felt a twinge of regret for making his friend worry so much.

"Anyway…it was too early for you to be out on patrol, so I went by your place this morning, but Al said you were out and probably wouldn't be back any time soon. I asked him where you went, but he told me he didn't know," he smirked, "y'know that guy can bluff with the best of them man."

Robin chuckled lightly, "I think he's the one who taught Bruce."

"Seriously, anyway, he did let it slip that you took your motorcycle out, it has a limited range so I just had to start at your place and work my way out until I managed to track you down."

Wally pulled his long legs up against his chest and hugged his knees, "Sorry if I'm bugging you I was just….worried, I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I guess you're kinda mad at me since you went to all this trouble to be alone, but," he paused and bit his lip, but when he opened his mouth again he started to ramble, "You should know though…you don't have to be alone, I mean, we don't have to talk about it, but I think even Bats and Al were worried about you being alone, especially since they dropped hints for me to follow, and I know I can't really know what it's like for you, like I know our situations are pretty different, but I do know what it's like to feel like you don't have anyone you can talk to, I mean I have almost no relationship with my…y'know, and I used to go out of my way to be alone cause I knew they didn't want to talk to me, but then I started spending more time with Aunt Iris and I met Uncle Barry and I realized that I felt so much better when they were with me and then I met you and now I have so many people I care about that none of that other stuff seems to matter anymore, and, well, look if you want me to go just say so, I just wanted to check on you bro. I-"

Dick leaned over and slapped a hand over Wally's mouth, the red head stopped and turned to him, his deep green eyes bright with concern, the Boy Wonder pushed his sunglasses up to sit on the top of his head and smiled, "Wally, thank you."

The speedster's eyes lit up and Dick's smile widened, "I get what you're trying to say, I'm glad you came to find me. Having you here really has helped, though I don't know how you knew I needed you when I didn't even know it myself."

The sentence was barely out of his mouth before Robin found himself caught up in the older boy's arms, "I know when my best friend needs me, " the speedster replied softly.

Robin sighed as his arms came up to hug the older boy around his shoulders, "You're a better detective than I thought, I better watch my back or they'll be calling you the Boy Wonder."

Wally pulled back with a laugh, "I'd just settle for everyone getting my name right!"

They both flopped back on the beach, their laughter startling the seagulls, sending them squawking and fluttering away from them.

Eventually they lapsed into a companionable silence once more, true to his word, Wally didn't ask him to talk, but when the sun was just a line of bright colors at the farthest edge of his vision Dick sat up and turned to look down at his friend.

"Wally?"

The older teen looked up at him, "Yeah?"

Robin idly dug his fingers into the sand as his eyes darted back to the fading light, "Do you think you could go with me to…pay my respects?"

Wally sat up and reached out to put a hand on his best friend's shoulder, "Of course bro."

An instant later everything had been gathered up and put back in his bag and the speedster was on his feet, offering his hand to the younger boy.

Dick took his hand and Wally pulled him to his feet, then they walked to the bushes where he had hidden his motorcycle. The Boy Wonder settled onto his bike then he put on his helmet, as the bike roared to life Dick was surprised to feel the speedster climb on behind him.

He twisted in his seat to see Wally wearing his spare helmet and smiling at him, Dick grinned and turned forward once more, "I like to drive fast and take hard turns, make sure you don't fall off."

The red head laughed and wound his arms around the younger boy's ribs, "Please, I think you're losing your touch, don't forget who you're talking to Dick, this thing is like a kiddie ride for me."

The Boy Wonder laughed as they pulled out onto the road, then immediately took a hard left, their knees almost touching the ground and tires squealing as he accelerated into the turn, "You asked for it twinkle-toes."

"Bring it short-pants."

AN: Ah me and my random thoughts, I don't really have anything to say about this one except that it sort of comes from the fact that I found out that in YJ it is cannon that Wally knows Dick's secret ID before they start the team. There was a comic given away at Comic con that was a sort of Young Justice/Batman: The Brave and the Bold comic crossover and there is a panel in it showing Dick revealing his face to Wally (it was a good story too). I'm pretty sure it happened before the team was formed because in the comic Artemis hasn't joined the team yet. Anyway a little bittersweet but this was really fun to write, I hope everyone enjoys it!


	8. Olive Branch

Artemis' eyes narrowed as a kernel of popcorn fell onto her math book, "oops sorry."

The kernel disappeared and she turned around to glare at her teammate, Wally was leaning on the back of the couch, a bowl of popcorn in one hand as he casually looked over the papers in her lap.

"Go away. I'm not in the mood."

The red head grabbed a handful of popcorn and popped a few into his mouth before answering, "Having a hard time?"

Artemis turned away, her hand tightening on her pencil, "Buzz off Wally."

Wally set the popcorn down beside her and pointed to the problem she was currently struggling with, "You need to-"

She rounded on him with a growl unintentionally letting her frustration get the better of her, "This is advanced calculus, and even if you can help you'd probably teach me to do it wrong on purpose just so you could laugh at me later. Now go away."

The speedster's face fell slightly and he scooped up his bowl, "Sheesh, you didn't have to bite my head off. I was just trying to help you out because you looked so frustrated."

The sincerity in his tone made her feel compelled to watch as he turned away, "Didn't mean to bug you Blondie, let me know if you change your mind."

"Yeah, sure."

She stared after him as Kid Flash turned toward the bedrooms and disappeared down the hallway; as soon as he was gone she sighed and slumped in her seat, staring at her homework with a gloomy expression, "Like he could actually help…."

"Hmm, calculus? He could totally help you with that."

Artemis shot to her feet, spilling her things all over the floor, barely holding back the frightened yelp that she felt rising in the back of her throat, "Robin!"

The Boy Wonder vaulted over the couch and began gathering up her things chuckling lightly, "You okay there Artemis?"

The archer settled back on the couch, a frown on her face, "I hate it when you do that."

Robin shrugged, still laughing to himself, "I can't help it if I'm light on my feet." he handed her homework to her, "So why were you mad at Wally this time?"

"He was bugging me."

He tilted his head at her, "He was just offering to help you out." he glanced at the papers in her lap, "You do look like you're having a hard time with those. I can already spot a couple that are wrong."

Artemis turned her gaze to her papers, "How do you-" she cut herself off, "Fine, then how about you show me?"

The younger hero shrugged, "Wally's a better choice. He's better at explaining this stuff. Once in a while he even helps me out."

Artemis shot him a disbelieving look, he stood and grinned down at her, "What? He is a couple grades ahead of me. You should go ask him, I know he seems like a doofus, but he can do that stuff in his head."

Robin sauntered away, waving at her over his shoulder as he headed toward the training room, the blond sighed again, staring blankly at her book wishing it would burst into flames.

After several long moments, during which it once again became clear that spontaneous combustion was a myth, she stood, tucked her things under one arm and headed off toward the bedrooms.

She turned down the hallway, easily finding her way to the door she wanted.

Artemis bit her lip as she stood staring at Wally's door, she could hear music coming from the other side, something loud and upbeat, exactly what she would expect from the cheerful speedster.

With another deep sigh she reached up and rapped her knuckles on the door, she was immediately rewarded by the red head's cheerful voice, "It's open."

She steeled herself for the inevitable jeering response she would receive when she told him why she was there, hoping he actually could, and still would help her.

Artemis opened the door and stepped inside letting the door slide shut behind her; the speedster was laying back on his bed, his head propped up on his folded over pillow, one long leg was bent with the other crossed over it and he had a thick book in his hands.

She took a step into the room and he turned his head to look at her, laying his open book on his stomach, "Arty? I thought you didn't want to talk to me."

Artemis almost turned and stormed out of the room, but she swallowed her pride and looked into his eyes, he was watching her with genuine confusion so she bit the bullet and shifted so he could see the textbook under her arm.

"I…could use some help…."

He sat up, setting his book on the nightstand, she grit her teeth waiting for him to make fun of her, but he just smiled, "I thought you didn't want my help. What made you change your mind?"

She blinked in surprise, "I just-" he was looking up at her with an honestly curious expression without a hint of sarcasm in his eyes so she decided to go with the truth, "Robin told me that you really do know what you're talking about."

Wally laughed, "He was lurking around while we were talking? Dude that guy is such a freaking creeper at times, you never know where the little ninja is hiding!"

He scooted back until he could lean his shoulders against the headboard and folded his legs in front of him, he smiled at her and patted the bed, "Well grab a seat then."

The archer's eyes widened slightly, "You're still going to help? Why?"

He shrugged, "Why not? We're a team we should help each other whenever we can right?"

She sat down on the other end of the bed and turned to face him, setting her homework between them, "Then I guess… I should work on accepting help a little better."

Wally shot her a knowing smile, "Maybe." he reached over and flipped open her book, "Okay, so here's where you went wrong…"

AN: I was seriously impressed when Wally calculated the wattage and energy output for the EMP thingy so I had to use the idea somewhere. Plus I really wanted to do something with Wally and Artemis learning to get along. They're both stubborn, but since Arty is a bit insecure I sort of saw him being the first to extend the olive branch. (After all in the show he started chattering to her before she decided to start being nice to him back). Robin…just sort of ninja'ed his way in there like he always does. Anyway that's where this little drabble comes from. Enjoy ^_^


	9. You Forgot Your Lunch

Batman paused and his eyes narrowed slightly as a red streak rushed into the room and slid to a halt beside Kid Flash.

The Flash shot him a grin, "Sorry to interrupt Bats, I'll only be a second."

The speedster turned back to see Wally looking up at him with a puzzled expression, "Flash is everything okay?"

Barry grinned, "Yeah, but you forgot your snacks and your Aunt asked me to drop them off."

Wally looked shocked as he popped open the compartments on his wrists, "Oh crud, I was in a hurry and I totally didn't think about it. She had them out on the counter and everything."

The older speedster leaned down to grab his nephew's wrist, carefully tucking the bars into one compartment, then the other, "You'd forget your head if it wasn't fastened on kiddo."

He closed the second compartment and smiled down at the younger speedster, "You really have to be more careful about this okay? I don't want you getting hurt or sick because you didn't eat enough."

"Sorry Flash, thanks for bringing them to me, and can you thank Aunt Iris too?"

The older hero ruffled his hair, "No problem." he pulled Wally into a hug, patting the teen on the back, "You be careful out there okay, and kick some bad guy butt."

Wally gave him a thumbs up, "You got it!"

"Okay then I'm out of here, love ya kid."

Rather than shying away from the open expression of feelings like most teenage boys the younger speedster beamed at his mentor, "Love you too."

Flash turned back toward the door with a smile and a wave toward the rest of the team, "Be safe kids, see you later. Sorry again Bats."

Without waiting to see if Batman was going to respond Flash took off and the team returned the hero's wave as he disappeared the way he had come.

"Bye Flash!" Wally turned back to the briefing with a smile on his face, but it faded into a confused frown when he caught sight of his team.

They were all looking at him with a mixture of confusion and amusement and Robin had a hand over his mouth in an attempt to cover his snickering, "What?"

Artemis snorted as she looked at him with a bemused expression, "Does your Auntie pack you a lunch too?"

Wally frowned at her, "As a matter of fact she does. Got a problem with that blondie?"

Artemis let out the laugh she'd been suppressing, "You are such a kid."

"Why?" a mischievous look spread across his face, "Jealous?"

"Oh please I-"

"Enough. Let's finish the briefing so you can get moving."

Artemis jumped and turned her attention back to Batman, "Sorry sir."

She heard Wally mumbling a similar apology, but when she glanced back at him he was leaning on Robin's shoulders and sticking his tongue out at her.

Robin's other hand came up to try and stifle his giggles and Artemis rolled her eyes as she turned back to the briefing.

AN: I was like this with my parents and I sort of see Wally being cool with his Aunt and Uncle fussing over him (within reason of course). Lol I've noticed kids that are close to their parents don't usually mind this kind of thing.

Anyway this is just one of several little scenes that I've had laying around that I can't seem to find any real context for, but it seemed a shame to waste them. Hopefully it's entertaining since I'm going to post a few tonight.


	10. Sleep Eating Part II

Robin was in the kitchen loading the dishes into the dishwasher when he heard the computer announce the arrival of The Dark Knight.

He quickly added the soap and turned the machine on, then whipped around to face the door.

Dick grinned as his mentor swept into Mt. Justice's living room, "Hi Batman, how'd the JLA meeting go?"

A hint of a smile ghosted over the older hero's lips as he approached his ward, "Hello Robin, the meeting was productive, overly long, but productive."

"That's good." Robin vaulted over the kitchen counter and into the adjoining room followed up with a back flip and landed gracefully before Batman, "Did you get my message?"

"Yes, since it's the weekend I have no objections."

"Awesome, thanks!"

The beginnings of a smile crossed the older male's face once more, "Where is he?"

Dick snorted and jerked his thumb toward the couch, "Still passed out over there. He's pretty out of it, even slept through a grease fire and Super boy's 'help'." the Boy Wonder held up his fingers to draw imaginary quotes in the air as he spoke.

"I don't even want to ask how that happened," this time Batman didn't try to hide his smile as he silently made his way over to the sofa and peered down at his protégé's friend.

Wally was laying on his stomach, one arm curled against his chest while the other hung off the couch, his head half on a throw pillow and his fiery red hair sticking out in messy spikes.

Bruce felt the stirrings of the paternal instinct he hadn't known he had possessed until he had made Dick his ward, rather than fight the impulse that was becoming all to familiar he leaned over the back of the couch, pulling the red head's blanket up over his shoulders.

Kid Flash sighed and snuggled a little deeper into his pillow.

"He's probably going to be pretty hungry when he wakes up."

Batman pulled his hands back and glanced down at his partner who was perched on the back of the couch watching his mentor, "Preparations are already being made at home. Does Flash know where he is?"

Robin nodded, "Yup, he said it was fine and Black Canary gave us the weekend off from training with her. She figured if even Flash was tired enough to take a day off then Wally could use the rest, she asked me to look out for him. I guess she figures you'll make up for any training I miss."

"I see. Did you complete the checks on the security system?"

"Yup, I'm just waiting for the last of the enhancements that I made to finish uploading themselves to the system. It should be done any minute."

"Good, and where are the rest of your teammates?"

Dick put a hand to his chin, "Hmm, I didn't see Artemis today, Kaldur is in Atlantis, Meg and Supey decided to go out to dinner after the fire fiasco, and Red Tornado is out on a mission, so I think it's just us right now."

Batman glanced up at the clock on the wall, "I'm going to fuel the jet, finish the update and see if you can get him up. You can brief me about the changes you made on the way home."

Robin offered the older hero a playful salute, "You got it. Meet you in the hangar?"

"Yes, try not to be too long."

"I'll try, might take me awhile to get sleepy-head back on his feet."

The Dark Knight nodded and left the room, his cape billowing out behind him. Once his mentor was out of sight the young acrobat leaned over to look down at his best friend.

"Hey, KF."

He paused, but the speedster didn't stir, he reached down and put his hand on the other teen's shoulder giving him a little squeeze, "Wally, wake up…dude, it's time to get up."

Kid Flash grumbled a bit in his sleep, but didn't wake, Robin sighed, "Talk about sleeping like a log."

The Boy Wonder hopped down from his perch and walked to the side of the couch so he could lean over the older boy's head, putting his mouth close to his ear, he grabbed his friend by the shoulders and took a deep breath, "Wally get up already!"

The speedster's head jerked up and his eyes snapped open, wide and unfocused. He was still half asleep when he looked up to see Robin's face just inches from his, the red head let out a startled noise and started to bolt upright, instead he got tangled in his blanket and fell off of the couch.

Dick just barely managed to avoid getting hit by falling back onto the floor, he blinked a couple of times then got on his knees and peered around the corner of the sofa, "KF?"

The speedster was blinking rapidly and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes, "Ugh, what th' heck?"

Dick chuckled lightly at his friend, "Dude, you alright?"

Wally yawned and looked at the other boy through blurry eyes, "Rob? Not cool man, you scared the crap outta me…."

Robin shrugged and got to his feet, leaning down to offer his hand to the older boy, "Sorry KF, but you wouldn't get up."

The red head yawned again, tears pooling in the corners of his emerald eyes as he reached for his friend's hand, "What did you have to wake me up for? I was having a really good dream."

"What were you dreaming about?"

Wally grinned mischievously up at him, "It was great man, M'gann was standing over me feeding me cookies."

Robin coughed to cover a laugh, "Oh really? Cookies huh?"

Wally looked suspiciously at the younger boy, "What are you giggling about?"

"Nothing, nothing, you're just such a dork dude."

Wally waved him off, "Whatever man, you're just too young to understand these things."

In spite of his mask Kid Flash could tell Robin was rolling his eyes, "Sure, that must be it, since you're two whole years older than me."

"It's more of a difference than you'd think bro."

Robin scooped the pillow and blanket up off the floor, "Not that I mind, but how come you're here anyway Wally? Wouldn't it have been easier to crash at your Aunt and Uncle's house? It's all but official that you live there isn't it?"

Wally glanced away and reached up to rub at the back of his neck, "Yeah, well…Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry haven't had a chance to spend any time together this week so I thought maybe they'd like some space y'know….?"

The speedster trailed off and Dick folded the blanket while he waited for him to continue.

He didn't have to wait long before Wally turned back to him, but didn't quite look at him, "I guess I could have gone to my parents house, but they're sort of used to having me out of their hair so," he shrugged.

Dick suppressed a sudden desire to smack his best friend's parents, "I hear you Wally, I didn't think you'd go _there_." he fought with himself for a moment before he continued, "You know Flash and your Aunt absolutely love having you around right?"

Wally finally looked at him and he smiled, "I called your house a couple weeks ago to talk to you, you weren't home, but I was on the phone with your Aunt for like half an hour while she told me how proud she was of you."

The red head beamed at him, "That sure sounds like her, according to Green Lantern when they're on monitor duty my Uncle does the same thing. Don't worry Rob, I know they love having me around, but I'm old enough to know they should have some space once in awhile too. So since I have a room here I figured it'd be fine for a couple of days."

"Makes sense, Batman said we can use the rooms whenever we want."

Wally put his hand up to cover a yawn, "Anyway you didn't answer me. Why'd you wake me up? I'm beat man."

"Batman's here to pick us up, we're supposed to meet him in the hangar in a couple of minutes."

"Batman?" Wally stretched up onto his toes with his arms over his head, then rolled his shoulders and ran his hands through his messy hair.

Robin nodded, "Yeah, Batman and Flash said that you could spend the weekend over at my place if you want to."

Green eyes lit up as they locked onto Robin's, "Really? Awesome, it'll be nice to just chill with my best bro for the weekend, but what about training?"

Robin grinned, "Since you were so tired Black Canary gave you the weekend off and she asked me to look out for you."

Wally smiled, "Awesome!"

Dick walked over to the counter where his computer sat with numbers scrolling across the screen, "I bet if we don't cause any trouble that Batman'll let us go on patrol together again."

Wally followed along behind the smaller boy a hand over his mouth to stifle another yawn, "Sounds like a plan Rob, there's always something exciting going down on your turf."

The Boy Wonder tapped a few keys on his laptop, "You know it. I just have to finish this up and then we can go meet Batman."

The speedster looked over his shoulder for a moment before zipping over to the fridge to extract a soda, he took a long drink then licked his lips. Wally's eye brows furrowed in confusion and he licked his lips again, "What the….?"

Robin looked up at him with his head tilted to one side, "What's the matter?"

"Dude…why is there chocolate on my face?"

Dick snorted and quickly reached up to cover his mouth, "Uh, let's just say it was a baking experiment that got a bit out of hand. Sorry KF."

AN: The promised sequel! I hope it lives up to what those of you who requested it were hoping for! I actually almost forgot to put in the explanation for the tiny drop of angst I squeezed into the last one so hopefully it fits well.


	11. It's a Matter of Survival

AN: Hey everyone! I just wanted to add that Perinel did a totally awesome fanart to go with this fic. It's super cute and seeing it really made my day so I wanted to share! Here's the URL so everyone can check it out!

http:/perinel .com/art/Eat-up-darling-282559761

Conner breathed deeply as he followed the scent of something sweet toward the kitchen.

Every day M'gann's cooking got a little bit better, and judging from the smell the team was in for a treat.

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to tame his bed head as he turned the corner into the kitchen, "Breakfast smells good, what are you making Meg-"

Superboy cut himself off and his eyebrows shot up as he took in the scene before him.

Wally turned and grinned at him from his place in front of the stove, "Morning Con-man, grab a seat I'm almost done."

The speedster turned back to the stove and for a moment all Conner could do was stare.

The read head was still in his pajamas, but he was wearing a bright red apron, splattered with batter and dusted with flour, tied low on his hips with the top half and hanging down in front.

He whistled cheerfully to himself as he flipped a finished pancake onto the mountain of pancakes that was already piled on a plate beside him, right next to a stack of bacon and third plate with a tower of toast.

Conner snapped out of his surprise when he heard paper rustling off to his left.

The clone turned to find Robin, already dressed, and sitting at the head of the table reading a newspaper while sipping a cup of coffee.

He blinked in confusion at the other teen and was surprised once more when the Boy Wonder spoke without looking up from whatever he was reading, "Everything okay Con? If you don't want to sit you could wake the others and let them know breakfast is almost ready."

Wally piped up from behind him, and Conner could tell without looking that there was a huge smile on his face, "That's a good idea. Do you mind Conner? I don't want the food to get cold."

Conner looked back at the speedster and watched as he poured more batter onto the griddle, then blurred and reappeared rummaging in the fridge.

When Wally stood he looked up at Conner with bright green eyes shining with his ever-present cheerfulness and he found himself nodding, "Sure..."

The red head grinned and zipped back over to the stove to flip his pancakes, "Awesome, thanks Supey."

The clone turned and shuffled back toward the living quarters, before he had a chance to knock on M'gann's door he felt her speaking to his mind, _Good Morning Conner!...Is everything alright?_

_Yes...um, Robin and Wally asked me to tell everyone to come to breakfast. Could you wake Artemis?_

There was a pause during which he assumed that she was doing as he asked.

A moment later the Martian's door opened and she floated to his side and kissed his cheek, _She's already up...I just told her. I contacted Kaldur as well, they both said they'd be out in a moment._

Conner every-so-gently brought his arms up to wrap around her waist and he leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead, _Thanks_

She beamed at him, _It was no problem. So you said breakfast was ready, who made it?_

Superboy hastily let go of M'gann just as Artemis and Kaldur turned a corner and walked toward the pair, _I'd like to know too, M'gann's the one who does all the cooking around here._

Conner shook his head_, You have to see this for yourselves. Come on._

He turned back toward the kitchen and the trio exchanged confused glances before following.

When they got to the kitchen they all stopped in their tracks, staring at the table that was set with a place for each of them, with a glass of orange juice at each place, and laden with plates filled with blueberry pancakes, bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs.

Robin hadn't moved from his place at the table, but the paper was now folded neatly and resting at his elbow, the dark-haired teen smiled as they entered, "Morning everyone."

"Robin..." Kaldur began, but he paused as the computer's mechanical voice echoed in the cave.

There was a gust of wind as Wally appeared in the room with a paper bag and plopped it irritably onto the plate in front of Robin, "There, croissants. Anything else you need Mr. Demanding?"

The Boy Wonder quirked an eyebrow and looked down at the bag, "You went all the way to France?"

Wally waved him off, "I figured since you're used to the best," the speedster made a vague gesture of annoyance, "Anyway, I'm gonna eat some of those and I like the ones from that shop the best."

Robin smiled, "Thanks for going to the trouble Walls."

"Yeah, well you _are_ my bro," Kid Flash turned around and he blinked in surprise when he saw their stunned teammates standing in the entrance to the kitchen, "Oh hey guys! Grab a seat and dig in."

Kaldur was the first to move, taking a place on Robin's left, "Robin, did you-?"

Batman's protege cut him off with a chuckle, "I had nothing to do with it, this was all Wally."

Conner had already seated himself beside Kaldur and he watched as their teammates turned surprised looks on the red head.

Artemis recovered first, "_You _cooked all of this?"

Wally zipped over to his place on Robin's other side with a grin, "Yup, you better hurry if you want some."

Kid Flash and Robin both began piling their plates with food, after watching for a second Artemis turned to M'gann with a shrug and the pair sat down.

Even Artemis couldn't deny that everything looked good as she skewered a couple of pancakes with her fork and bought them over to her plate.

She drizzled syrup onto her them before taking a bite, as she chewed her eyes widened in pleasant surprise, "Did you order catering or something...?"

Wally swallowed the food in his mouth and took a drink of his juice before he replied with a frown, "You _do_ see all the dirty dishes in the sink right Blondie?"

Artemis let her gaze flicker to the sink as she popped some bacon into her mouth, "Well forgive me for being a bit skeptical," she took another bite of her pancakes, "This is pretty good Kid Mouth."

Wally's reply was cut off as M'gann turned to the speedster with delight, "Wally this is delicious! I had no idea you were such a good cook!"

The speedster blushed lightly, "Ah, well, it's not something I do too often."

Kaldur picked up his napkin and wiped some syrup away from his lips before speaking, "It is good, but I must admit I'm surprised, what brought this on?"

"Ah, well," Wally's blush deepened ever so slightly, "That mission last night was pretty rough and I knew everyone was really tired, especially M'gann so I thought I'd give her a break and make breakfast today. Besides, Rob asked me to."

The Boy Wonder shrugged, "I had a craving for blueberry pancakes."

The pretty Martian floated out of her seat and around the table to give the red head a quick hug, "That's so kind of you! Thank you!"

She floated around the other side of the table, brushing Conner's shoulder as she made her way back to her seat, "You'll have to give me some pointers Wally."

Kid Flash grinned, "Sure, but really the best thing to do is to just keep trying, you've already gotten a lot better since you started."

"You think so?"

Wally laughed, "Of course, and I would know since I've eaten almost everything you've made."

Artemis helped herself to another pancake from the rapidly dwindling stack, "Still, I never thought you'd like to cook."

"Are you kidding?" Wally shot her an incredulous look, "With my metabolism? It's pretty much a necessity."

The archer shrugged, I just assumed you would buy pre-made stuff or you'd get someone to make it for you."

"I buy a lot of my food, but that gets super expensive. I learned to cook because when my Aunt is out of town it's a matter of survival."

The team, aside from Robin who was digging in the bag of croissants, gave him a puzzled look.

Wally shrugged, "Flash is a decent enough cook when he's paying attention, but he always forgets about it and ends up ruining pans and setting off the fire alarm. My Aunt taught me to cook so we wouldn't have to choose between eating out and starving when she's out of town for work."

The speedster finished his meal and he stood, the next second his plate was in the sink and he vanished.

Wally reappeared a moment later his hair wind-swept and in his street clothes.

Robin stood with the bag of croissants in his hand, "Hey Fleet Feet, let's go catch an early movie."

The speedster appeared at his side and slung an arm across Robin's shoulders, "Sounds good, I wanna see that comedy that just came out."

They began walking toward the exit that led to Happy Harbor,"What about that detective one? That looks good too."

"_Heck_ no, you can't shut up in mystery movies. You'll solve it in five minutes and then you _have _to tell me about it and you end up ruining the movie."

"I don't _always_ do that!"

"Dude, you even analyze Scooby-Doo. It's like a compulsion, you can't help yourself."

Artemis stood and put her hands on her hips, "Hold on a second."

The pair turned to look at her and she gestured toward the sink overflowing with dishes, "You're just going to leave it like that?"

The Boy Wonder shrugged, "He cooks, you guys clean up."

"That sounds fair," M'gann interjected.

The archer crossed her arms, "Oh really? I suppose I can agree to that, but what about you?"

Wally grinned cheekily at her, "He paid for the groceries."

Without waiting for a response the two of them sprinted off toward the garage laughing.

Artemis put her hand to her head with a sigh, "Jeeze, those two..."

There was a moment of silence before Kaldur stood and began clearing the dishes while M'gann floated over to the sink with a shrug.

Artemis sighed and plopped back into her chair, after a moment of thought she helped herself to another pancake.

AN: Okay, so it seems to be generally believed that YJ Wally can't cook, and for some reason that Dick can. I've seen no evidence of that in the show so I think it's just sort of assumed. The thing is, in the comics Wally seems to have a pretty good grasp of the cooking basics. When he was a teenager he spent most of his time living either at the Titans Tower or later, his dorm room at college. When he was an adult and had his own place and took care of himself so I feel like he would have some skills in the kitchen.

On the other hand Dick, in the comics, seems to have almost no cooking ability. He's used to Alfred doing it for him and when he's on his own it seems his options are usually take-out or a bowl of cereal. BTW as a side note, the thing about Dick analyzing mystery movies is cannon, Wally makes fun of him for it in Titans #3.

Soooo I decided to write this, it's really just a friend fic, but I loved the image of Wally in an apron (a manly apron lol), happily cooking for his 'family' while Dick sits at the table reading the paper. (Sort of the '50s Mom and Dad image ^_^). For some reason this amuses me endlessly and I had to make it happen. BTW if any of you are artists and would care to draw this little scene for me I will love you forever. I hope everyone liked it! Sorry for the long note...


	12. That Time of Year Again

Artemis gasped as a red and yellow blur streaked past her almost faster than she could register making her long blond hair whip around her face.

If she hadn't already been so familiar with their resident speedster's tendency to appear out of nowhere she would have been reaching for her bow, as it was her fingers twitched upward on instinct, but she forced herself to brush her hair out of her eyes instead.

Before the computer could finish announcing the speedster's arrival he was gone again and then it was belatedly announcing his departure.

The archer frowned in annoyance because just as the computer finished reciting the red head's code name it had to begin again as he blurred back into the cave then straight back out again.

Artemis turned to look over her shoulder at the entrance, this time the computer didn't seem to have had time to register when he had rushed out of their hideout because it fell silent.

"What the heck?"

At the sound of the voice she looked over at the couch to see Robin digging himself out from the pile of grocery bags that the speedster had dumped on him.

He moved so he was perched on the back of the couch and Artemis went over to stand beside him, "What is all this?"

"I dunno, Wally just suddenly buried me in bags."

The computer announced the return of the speedster along with an error message, Robin's expression suggested that the younger hero was rolling his eyes, "Great now I have to recalibrate that thing."

"You should just make him do it."

Wally finally came to a stop beside them in his uniform with more bags hanging from his arms and a cookie in his mouth.

His eyes green eyes were bright with happiness as he set the bags on the couch and downed his cookie, "I'm gonna get some milk!"

Before either of them could say a word he had zipped off into the kitchen, Robin looked at Artemis and shrugged then they followed after their hyperactive friend.

Robin peered into the kitchen to see the speedster sitting on the counter cowl pulled back, with a glass of milk, and happily munching on another cookie, "Dude, what the heck is up with you? I haven't seen you this excited in awhile, and what's up with all the bags you tossed on me?"

Kid Flash turned to him with a smile, "Oh, sorry about that buddy, I was in a bit of a rush."

Artemis crossed her arms, "What is going on?"

Wally grinned, "Cookies!"

Robin scoffed at his friend, "Wals you get cookies all the time from M'gann."

"He's right you Cookie Monster. I've never seen you miss out on a batch."

"Yeah, but these are _Girl Scout Cookies_!" the red head held up the half empty box of thin mints that until that moment had been out of sight on his other side, "They started selling them a bit early this year! On my way here I stopped at the grocery store in town to grab a snack and there they were! Those cute little girls looking up at me with those big eyes asking me if I wanted to buy cookies. How could I refuse?"

The speedster was vibrating with excitement, "They ran out, but they said they could order more and have them by next week, I asked them to order extra Thanks-a-lots."

He belatedly remembered to hold out the box, "What some? I got enough to share 'cause Flash loves them too."

Robin chuckled as he reached for the offered snack, "Thanks, seriously though, just how many boxes did you buy?"

Kid Flash shrugged, "I dunno, they sell 'em so cheap I just bought everything they had."

The speedster blurred, Artemis blinked and found that his milk had been refilled and he had a fresh box of cookies in his hands, "Want some Arty?"

She looked over at Robin to see that a glass had appeared in his hand and after another second she noticed the cup of milk by her elbow, Artemis shrugged and grabbed a couple of cookies from the package, "Thanks."

Wally grinned as he went back to shoveling cookies into his mouth, Robin laughed when the speedster vibrated with delight, "Don't over do it K.F. You'll end up with a sugar high."

Artemis shuddered, "A speedster on a sugar high? That is a scary thought."

"Naw, won't happen, my system burns off sugar too quickly for me to get much of a rush out of it. These are so good though!"

Artemis leaned against the counter sipping her milk and listening to the two of them chatting wondering when her relationship with them had begun to feel so natural.

Wally laughed and she found herself smiling at the sound, and when Robin flipped up onto the counter and balanced on one hand while eating a cookie with the other she started to laugh along with them.

The red head held a box of Thanks-a-lots out to her and she flashed him a smile as she grabbed one and dunked it into her milk, "I'm surprised a glutton like you is so willing to share."

"Well I did pass Kindergarten with flying colors."

The computer piped up again announcing that their teammates had returned then repeated the error message.

Kaldur's brow furrowed as he approached the trio in the kitchen, "What is wrong with the Zeta beams?"

Robin let himself tilt, then fell back onto his feet, "I need to recalibrate it, Wally messed it up by buzzing in and out of here too fast."

The speedster had the decency to look sheepish, "Sorry about that, I got excited."

Artemis giggled, "I told you that you should just make him fix it."

Conner boosted himself up onto the counter to sit beside the red head, "What were you doing?"

"Oh that's right!" Wally's eyes lit up and he glanced between Robin and Artemis, "Guys I just realized that Megs, Con, and Kal have never had Girl Scout Cookies before!"

M'gann was levitating in the middle of the kitchen and tilted her head at the speedy hero, "What are Girl Scout Cookies?"

"Hold on!"

Wally jumped off the counter and zipped out of the room, the team turned to watch as he blurred from one end of the couch to the other, after a moment he reappeared in the kitchen placing a stack of brightly colored boxes on the counter.

"Rob, Arty, you open the boxes, I'll grab the milk. As their friends we have a duty to introduce them to the wonders of Girl Scout Cookies!"

Robin gave him a mock salute, "Yes sir!"

The Boy Wonder hopped back onto the counter and Artemis boosted herself on the other side of the stack of boxes, they laughed as they tore into the packages and pulled three cookies from each box stacking them into a tower of cookies for each of their teammates.

A second later three glasses of milk appeared beside their growing towers and Wally was ushering the confused trio around to the other side of the counter and onto the stools.

Wally put one hand on Kaldur's shoulder and the other over his own heart as he looked at the three seated before him, "Get ready to taste one of the all time best American creations."

The Atlantian eyed the stack of cookies, "There seem to be quite a few flavors. I do not have much of a sweet tooth..."

Wally patted him on the back, "That's okay Kal, you can always save some for later, but you _have _to try them. There is no such thing as a bad Girl Scout Cookie. Even if you like some more than others they're all good."

Conner eyed the stack of cookies in front of him, but when M'gann beamed up at Wally and reached for the cookie at the top of her stack he followed suit.

Wally nudged Kaldur before he rushed back to the other side of the counter, squeezing between Robin and Artemis and watching them with anticipation.

M'gann's eyes widened and she turned to Conner, he returned her gaze with raised eyebrows.

Their speedster leaned forward, "Well, well? Awesome right?"

Conner immediately reached for the next cookie in his stack, "These are...really _good._"

M'gann was on her second cookie as well, "These are delicious!"

Wally sat up straighter and beamed at his teammates, "Yes, I knew it! What about you Kaldur?"

Robin, Artemis, and Wally looked over at their leader and began to laugh when they saw that he was already reaching for his third cookie.

Robin grinned, "So much for not having much of a sweet tooth huh Kal?"

"These are unlike other sweets I have tasted. I can see why Wally was so excited to share this with us."

Wally glanced to Robin then Artemis, before holding his hands up, on cue they high-fived his upraised hands, "A job well done my friends."

Artemis nodded, "Friends don't let friends miss out on Girl Scout Cookies."

Robin reached for a box of Lemonades and flipped it in his hands before pulling out a cookie, "Maybe I should hack into their system to get the recipe for these."

The team looked up as the computer relayed its error message once more and The Flash buzzed into the room, "What's up with the Zeta beams? Hey Kid, are you ready to- are those Girl Scout Cookies? Did you get any Samoas?"

Wally laughed and before the team realized he had moved he was standing in front of his mentor with a stack of the purple boxes in his arms, "Of course!" he handed the boxes to his uncle, "These are all for you."

Flash looked at the boxes, then back at his nephew and reached out to ruffle his so-red hair, "Kid you are the best partner a guy could ever ask for."

Wally beamed at the older speedster, "Want some milk?"

"Ooh, yes."

The next second the pair of them were perched on the counter beside Robin with full glasses of milk and cookies in their hands.

Robin laughed, "Wally wasn't kidding when he said you liked those."

The elder speedster looked at him with a grin, "Who _doesn't_ like Girl Scout Cookies?"

Robin put a hand to his chin, "I wonder if Batman likes them?"

Artemis laughed lightly, "Shouldn't you know?"

"I've never thought about it before."

The team paused to look at the Boy Wonder, Flash shrugged, "Probably, I've never seen him eat any, but I know he likes pie."

Everyone's gaze shifted to look at the Scarlet Speedster, Artemis raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

They jumped as a voice spoke up from behind them, only Flash and Robin were unaffected as the Dark Knight spoke, reaching for the box of cookies in Wally's hands, "Everyone likes pie."

Wally stared at him with wide eyes as he popped a thin mint in his mouth, and pulled a couple more from the package before handing the box back to the mystified speedster, "Thank you Kid Flash."

The younger speedster recovered from his surprise and grinned at the older hero, "No prob. Milk?"

Batman turned and began walking out of the kitchen, "No, thank you. Robin we leave in 15."

The dark haired boy grinned up at his mentor, trying to stifle his laughter, "Right!"

The room was silent as Batman disappeared into the base, as soon as he was gone Flash started to laugh, the sound filling the cave and soon the team joined in.

The older speedster leaned over to put a hand on Robin's shoulder, "Guess that answers your question huh Mini-Bats?"

Robin chuckled and drank the rest of his milk, "I guess Wally was right _everyone_ likes Girl Scout Cookies."

Wally smiled at his friend, but it quickly turned into a pout, "Dang it, I wish I had been able to record that! You never admit it when I'm right!"

"Enjoy it, it may never happen again."

"Dude!"

AN: Sorry the ending is a bit abrupt, but I felt like I was starting to ramble, I felt like if I kept going half the League was going to show up for cookies, and I really only wrote this to cute a case of writers block. Anyway, I've been working on this off and on for the last few weeks because the Girl Scouts in our area began selling cookies a bit early this year and my Dad came home with an entire case of the things. I've eaten too many of them because they are so irresistible...anyway I was eating one and I thought that Wally would totally be into them, then I had to get everyone else into it, because everyone likes Girl Scout Cookies!


	13. A Penny for Your Thoughts

Artemis pulled her hair into a pony tail as she wandered toward the mountain's common areas in search of Kid Flash.

After their mission to destroy the snow machines she had attended the debriefing then immediately crashed in her room at their headquarters.

Later, after she had woken up and taken a shower, she had heard about Wally's mission from a pleased Kaldur and an excited M'gann.

Wally had handled himself well against more than one super-villain and though he had been banged up the speedster had come out on top.

Artemis had to admit that she was impressed with him as well and she had been curious, so she had gone looking for more information.

She had been a bit surprised to find out that Kaldur and M'gann had actually gotten their information from Robin, and shortly after talking to their oldest teammates found herself in the library with the youngest.

Artemis had been a bit puzzled by the fact that she had heard about his mission from their teammates first.

Given how much he had accomplished Kid Flash had a right to be proud of himself and she would normally expect him to be running around, announcing his accomplishment to the world and preening like a peacock.

It seemed he was willing to talk about it when asked, yet he hadn't really said much about it on his own and his out of character modestly had piqued her interest, so she had decided to ask him about the mission herself.

As she turned a corner she realized just how far their relationship had come since that first meeting.

It hadn't been a particularly good moment for either of them, she had been nervous and defensive, while he had made a fool of himself and had become a prime target for her to vent her feelings.

So it had been no surprise when he had returned her animosity, but they had eventually been able to move past their first impressions of each other.

A soft smile came to her lips, in the past she might have gone out of her way to avoid the speedster, trying to avoid an argument and deny the attraction she felt toward the other teen despite their bickering.

Now she was actively seeking him out, and she was pleased when she realized that she felt comfortable doing so.

She found her target in the living room dozing in front of the TV.

Artemis moved around to the back of the sofa and leaned over to look at the red head.

After a moment he blinked and looked up at her with slightly drowsy green eyes, a smile working its way to his face,"Hey Arty."

The archer returned the smile, "Hey yourself," she looked him over, "Still sleepy?"

Kid Flash shrugged and turned onto his back, propping his head up on the armrest, "A little, that mission wore me out a bit. No biggie."th

"You hurt?"

The speedster shook his head, "Had a few scrapes and bruises but they're already gone. You?"

She shook her head and crossed her arms over the back of the couch so she could lean over a bit further, "Not a scratch. I heard you did an awesome job out there," her smile shifted into a smirk, "You should try having that kind of focus on team missions."

Kid Flash snorted, mirroring her expression, "And have people relying on me to be tough and serious all the time? No thanks."

"You're such a dork."

Wally chuckled then stretched, his back popped and he gave a little sigh of pleasure, "So what did you need? Or did you come to hear the amazing story of how I saved the day all by my lonesome while all of you were busy dealing with a distraction?"

Artemis rolled her eyes, "That's not exactly what I had in mind but I did want to ask you about it."

The older teen sat up, propping his elbows up on the arm rest to get a better look at her, "Okay Babe, shoot."

The blond's eyes narrowed slightly and she arched an eyebrow at him, but his smile only widened so she decided to let it slide, "After everything you had to go through, the running, the fight with Vandal, and the cold, how did you manage to keep it together enough to take down Vertigo and his goons?"

She straightened up and crossed her arms, "If I'm understanding the way your body works," she glared at him as he opened his mouth to say something she would probably make him regret, he closed his mouth, a mischievous smile still on his lips, and she continued uninterrupted, "you shouldn't have been able to do much of anything at that point. I don't know how you managed it."

Wally grinned up at her and shrugged, "I'm a hero, I did what I had to. If I wanted to save that little girl I didn't have a choice. I'm not about to let someone suffer if I can do something about it," he looked away with a small smile, "That's the first thing Flash taught me on my very first day as his partner."

Artemis considered the speedster sprawled on the couch for a moment before speaking, "So why do you do it?"

Wally glanced up at her, "Do what?"

"Fight crime, be a hero. What happened to you that made you want to do this?"

"Nothing happened. I wanted to help people."

"What?"

"I've admired Flash since I was little. I thought it was so cool that he had these great abilities and that he used them to save people every day so I decided I wanted to be like him."

Artemis resisted the urge to roll her eyes and managed to ignore the fact that the red head had simply _decided _to give himself superpowers.

She also ignored the fact that once he had set his mind to it the other teen had actually _succeeded, _instead keeping her focus on her original question, "So you fight crime, put yourself in almost constant danger, and risk your life on a daily basis, all for total strangers just because you like helping people?"

"Why are you saying it like it's so weird? We may be here for different reasons, but in the end we're all here to help people right? I don't know why you feel you need to fight, but in the long run the goal's the same isn't it?"

"I guess so..."

Wally smiled at her, "Well there you go then."

Artemis watched the speedster zip off to the kitchen, she shook her head and turned away.

She blinked in surprise when she found Robin standing uncomfortably close and had to stumble to avoid running into him.

"He's a real trip isn't he? It's weird to think that Wally and Flash do what they do simply out of a strong sense of right and wrong and the goodness of their hearts. Admirable though."

Artemis glanced back toward the kitchen where they could hear the speedster puttering around, "The world could use more people like them. If we were talking about anyone else I might doubt their sincerity, but not him...Wally has a big heart doesn't he?"

"Yeah, too big a heart, and far too soft. Sometimes I wonder how he makes it in this gig."

The archer whirled back around, intending to ask the younger teen what he had meant, but Robin was already gone.

She heard laughter from behind her and turned in time to see The Boy Wonder ducking into the kitchen and to hear the happy voice of their resident speedster greeting his friend.

The blond stood silently, turning the younger hero's words over and over again in her mind.

_Too big a heart, and far too soft._

Not for the first time since Black Canary had made her face the truth Artemis wondered how the speedster would react if he learned about her past.

Would he be Angry? Hurt? Understanding?

More importantly: Would he forgive her?

Artemis wasn't a fool, she knew she wasn't to blame for the accident of her genetics, but she had lied to them, lied to him, or at the very least she had kept the truth hidden.

She also knew that she wouldn't be able to hide it forever, and that when the truth did come out he would be the hardest one for her to face.

At first she thought she had known exactly how he would react and she had figured that he would never accept that part of her.

Before she had gotten to know him Artemis had assumed that Wally wore his heart on his sleeve, that he was the kind of person that let the world know his every thought.

The kind of person that was easy to read.

However, the more she learned about him the more she realized just how wrong that assumption had been.

The red head was free with his surface emotions and he was often the first to join a conversation or offer an opinion, so it had taken her more than a month to realize that the speedster was more secretive than she had initially given him credit for.

First of all he wasn't the type to advertise injuries, if something happened in battle it was often left unmentioned until either someone noticed on their own, or they had made it back to Mount Justice.

On more than one occasion the team, excluding Robin, had been surprised by Wally going to sit by his best friend and ask to be bandaged up.

They had all learned quickly that they needed to keep an eye on their teammate.

He had a particularly high tolerance for pain and superhuman endurance that came with being a meta that meant he could take hit after hit and keep getting back up and show almost no signs of discomfort.

He was also very close-mouthed about things that worried or upset him.

The first mission that she had gone on with the team he had almost drowned and had said nothing of it beyond his flirty comment to Miss. Martian.

Since he was a fairly experienced hero that hadn't surprised her, but then there were other, similar incidents and after awhile they began to add up.

Wally had declined to talk about it directly with the team, but according to Robin Kent Nelson had died to save his life.

They all knew that the speedster had gone to the elderly hero's funeral, but the next day he had shown up at the mountain as his usual cheerful self, and said nothing of it while smoothly dodging their concerns until Robin had signaled at them to just let it go.

Then of course there was the aftermath of that botched training exercise.

Artemis had missed the worst of it, but M'gann had told her all about it, including how Wally had reacted to her death.

Like all of them Kid Flash had spent a long time lost in thought, but to this day he hadn't talked about the incident despite the fact that he was usually a motor mouth.

She strongly suspected that he had spoken to Robin, but judging by the way Wally had watched over the younger boy during the next few weeks following the exercise she guessed that their conversations had focused on the younger hero.

Well before the others had managed to achieve 'normality' the speedster had reverted to his usual bouncy personality, though he had toned it down for their sakes while they got themselves together.

When Kaldur had questioned him about it Wally had simply replied that since he could think at hyper speeds he was able to work things out in his head much more quickly than most people and had left it at that.

When they had fought the Injustice League his arm had been broken and he had continued fighting without a word about it.

There hadn't been much that they could do for him at the time, but he had simply acted like it hadn't happened until she had gotten a chance to put his arm in a makeshift sling.

There were other instances as well, most recently his mission to save young Queen Perdita.

Thanks to Robin she had seen the mission report, apparently there had been a time when Wally had genuinely thought that he had been responsible for a little girl's death.

Artemis knew how she would feel in that situation, whether it turned out to be true or not, and given what a dedicated hero he was she found it odd that she had not been able to see any change at all in his bubbly demeanor.

It had taken her even longer to realize that there were, in fact, a few people with whom the red head was willing to share his troubles when prodded.

Though she had been a bit surprised by the some of the people he relied on: Red Arrow was on the list, she really couldn't picture the gruff, hot-tempered archer encouraging the younger red head to open up to him, but then again Red Arrow didn't like her while he seemed to regard Wally as a goofy younger brother.

Kid Flash also seemed to be close to Earth's first Green Lantern, she had heard him talk about the older hero before and it turned out that the man was sort of a cool uncle to the speedster.

Most surprising of all was Wally's apparent willingness to talk to Batman.

Presumably Wally had known Batman for as long as he had known Robin, but the red head's level of comfort with his best friend's mentor was bizarre given that their personalities were completely opposite.

Yet she had never seen Kid Flash cringe away from talking to The Batman, even after the older hero had stared him down for some stupid comment or other, and Batman had never ignored Wally when he requested a chance to talk to him.

Unsurprisingly Flash and Robin were at the top of the list, though she had recently found out that there was a beloved Aunt that he often confided in with almost no prompting at all.

More than once she had walked in on a hushed conversation between Robin and Kid Flash, but the second she entered the room their voices had risen, changing to some inane topic like food or video games and she found herself wondering what they had been talking about.

Worse, she found herself longing to be a part of those conversations, someone that Wally felt he could share his personal thoughts and feelings with.

There was laughter from the kitchen and the archer sighed, she had a feeling that it took quite awhile to graduate to that level of trust with Wally

_Too big a heart, and far too soft. Maybe he's aware of it and he tries to keep his distance._

Artemis sighed and wondered whether or not that heart of his would work in her favor when she could no longer hide her past.

Either that tender heart was going to end up too bruised and battered for her to fix or it was going to bounce back with the kindness and forgiveness she craved.

And the fact that she didn't know which she would get was what scared her the most.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by someone calling her name and she looked up to see Wally walking back out of the kitchen with a sandwich in his hands and Robin at his side, "Hey Arty, Rob and I were thinking of hitting the movies, you in?"

From behind the speedster Robin was giving her a thumbs-up.

After a moment in which Wally finished his sandwich and appeared with another she nodded, "Sure, let me go grab a jacket."

"Okay, we'll meet you in the garage."

The pair turned and walked away and she sprinted back to her room to grab her coat, then she ran to the garage.

When she got there she found the two of them chatting away, already perched on their motorcycles, helmets in their hands.

She hesitated in the door way until Robin turned and waved to her.

Artemis smiled and ran toward them, as she passed her own motorcycle she grabbed her helmet and slipped it on before seating herself behind Wally.

The red head gave her a surprised look and she shrugged, "I don't feel like driving."

Wally put on his helmet and started the bike, out of the corner of her eye she could see Robin grinning at her.

The Boy Wonder mimed a hug before turning to start his own bike.

The archer rolled her eyes, but as the motorcycle began to roll forward she leaned into Wally's back and wound her arms around his chest and she smiled.

_It's a start._

AN: Okay, so this came into being for a few reasons. First being that I was scrolling through some prompts on the YJAnon at live journal and there was a prompt that wanted to explore the fact that Wally seems to deny or repress things that bother him, and that, overall, this version of Wally seems to be less trusting than his previous incarnations. I wanted to do it because I LOVE exploring the psychology of my favorite characters. (I don't remember where the prompt is, so if anyone knows kindly give me a heads up so I can post this over there.)

Also Artemis has officially grown on me and since Spitfire is an inevitability I figured I'd jump on the band wagon.

Lastly I wrote this because in the comics Wally, though friendly and outgoing, has a horrible habit of stewing in his own thoughts. On more than one occasion Iris and Linda have to remind him to stop "living inside his own head" all the time and share his worries with his loved ones. I'll probably do more with that later, but for now I thought it would be fun to see how the people on the outside feel about the way he keeps things to himself. Anyway sorry for the freaking long note! I hope this was as interesting to read as it was to write.


	14. Where's Wally?

AN: I was reading my collection of Flash comics again and it just amuses me how often the Flashes get a call and are all: "Oh sorry I was in such-and-such country my bad." or the person on the other line is all "...Where are you anyway?" This isn't my favorite, but I wanted to see this in YJ so...please enjoy the silliness.

Robin glanced at the clock as he tried to ignore Artemis impatiently tapping her foot.

3 o'clock.

An hour, their _speedster_ was an hour late for their team building exercises and even Robin was beginning to feel impatient and ever-so-slightly worried about the absent speedster.

Kaldur was standing with his arms folded, his gaze sweeping from the harbor entrance toward the entrance hall that housed the zeta beams and back again.

M'gann and Conner were off to the side playing with Wolf and talking quietly.

After another long moment Artemis threw her arms in the air, "Where the heck is he!"

M'gann looked up from where she was scratching Wolf's belly, "I hope nothing has happened to him."

Conner shrugged, "Maybe he forgot."

Robin sighed, "I want to give him the benefit of the doubt since he's always on time and he's never flaked on me before."

Their archer frowned at Robin, "He's been late before."

"Only when he's with Flash," The Boy Wonder turned to smirk at the irritated blond, "Flash is _always_ running late, but Wally always tries to be on time."

Artemis snorted, "The two fastest people on the planet should always be on time."

Robin chuckled, "That's how Wally feels, but Flash doesn't really worry about it. It's the only thing I've ever seen Wally get annoyed with him about, in fact I think it's the only thing they ever really disagree on."

Kaldur smiled, "I suppose even people as close as they are have at least one thing they don't agree on. Robin can you call him?"

"Sure."

The team formed a small circle as Robin pressed the call button on his gauntlet.

The device beeped and they were promptly greeted by a speedster who was just barely suppressing his laughter enough to talk.

"Hey Rob! What's up?"

Before anyone could speak he continued, but it was obvious he wasn't talking to them, "What? It's just my bluetooth Babe...yeah it's a little one, super high tech. Listen I gotta take this, it's a work call..."

"K.F!"

"Ack! Yeah, sorry Rob!" the speedster let out an undignified laugh, "Give me a minute beautiful."

Artemis was growing impatient again, "Wally!"

"Artemis? Jeez you don't have to yell!" they heard a mumbled voice and the blond sighed irritably as their absent teammate answered, "How about you go grab some sodas while I take this okay? It's on me...can you go with them Jake? You're awesome man, thanks girls."

They heard their friend sigh, "Finally. Sorry Rob, what did you need?"

It was Kaldur who answered, "You are late for our team building exercises Wally."

"Kal? What are you talking about?"

Conner rolled his eyes, "Did you forget? You were supposed to be here for team building an hour ago."

"What? But it's not even noon yet!"

Robin frowned, "Dude, it's already past three!"

"No way! I'm looking at a clock! It's only-...oops."

Kaldur reached up to rub at his temples, "What do you mean 'oops'?"

The red head gave a nervous chuckle, "I kinda forgot about factoring in the different time zones. I'm really sorry guys I-"

Robin interrupted him, "Time zones? Where are you Wally?"

"Uh, California..."

Realization dawned on Robin and he brought up his other hand to stifle his laughter, Artemis groaned and M'gann turned to Conner with a shrug.

Kaldur crossed his arms, "Wally, what are you doing in California?"

They could practically hear the speedster smiling, "Nothing much, I heard there were going to be some awesome waves this morning so I came out. Since I was already here I decided to hang out, you know enjoy the sun, the surf, the beach babes. All that good stuff."

M'gann giggled, "You have friends in California? Is that who you were talking to?"

"Huh? Yeah, GL lives here, but I met those guys today."

Artemis threw her hands up once more and walked away from the group mumbling about idiot speedsters.

This time Robin didn't try to hide his laughter, "Dude, only a speedster!"

Kaldur put a hand to his forehead and sighed, "Wally, how long will it take you to get here?"

"Only a couple of minutes, I'm authorized to use GL's Zeta tube. I just need to say goodbye to my beach buddies."

Robin was still laughing when Artemis' irritated voice drifted to them from the other end of the room, "Hurry up you breach bum I don't have all day!"

"Keep your pants on Blondie I said I was sorry!" the speedster shot back.

Robin got control of his laughter and intervened before they could get into a full tilt argument, "Okay, okay, don't worry about it dude, just come to HQ."

Wally laughed, "Alright bro, I'm on my way."

Robin ended the connection and turned to the rest of the team with an amused grin, "Well at least we know he's okay. Pretty funny though."

Artemis had returned to the group and she frowned at The Boy Wonder, "Are you serious? He's off playing around while we're waiting here, why is that so funny to you?"

Robin leaned over into a handstand and smiled up at the archer, "He's my best friend, and he's a speedster. He isn't usually late, but sometimes I call him and find out he's in all kinds of weird places," the younger hero flipped back to his feet, "I called him three days ago and found out he was at a restaurant with Flash in Italy across the street from the Leaning Tower of Pisa."

Artemis raised an eyebrow and he slung an arm around her shoulders, "Look when you're friends with a Flash you never know where they might be, it's easier to just go with the flow."

Conner snorted, "Someone should put a tracker on them."

Robin shot him a devious smirk, "Who says there isn't one?"

AN: As for Invasion, until further notice I am considering Invasion to be its own series until it proves otherwise to me. Also I actually like the way the characters have been represented (and the new characters) and the storyline, but I hate the fact that they are trying so hard to be secretive with what happened. I also hate their sudden obsession of starting us off in the middle of the action then telling the stories in flashbacks. They started that toward the end of the last season and while the style was interesting initially it's beginning to get on my nerves. And I miss Wally ***sigh *** I'm worried about my speedsters.


	15. Daring Young Men

AN: I'll just leave this right here...

"Okay, hold on tight and when you get out there put your feet together. It's like a swing, if you need more momentum use your legs. Got it?"

Wally glanced uneasily at the trapeze bar Dick had pressed into his hands then at the ground some twenty feet below. He suppressed a sigh and turned to his self-appointed instructor, "Dude, I don't know about this. I'm a speedster, we like to keep our feet on the ground."

Dick chuckled lightly, "Relax Fleet feet, you'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say Bird Boy." Wally grumbled as he pushed the bar back toward Robin.

The corners of the Boy Wonder's lips turned down slightly, but when he spoke his voice was soft and encouraging, "Dude, I already taught you some gymnastics and you do crazy flips and stuff all the time."

He reached over to pat the speedster's shoulder, "Besides, if you do lose your grip no one has a better chance of catching themselves than a speedster, and even if you do miss I'll catch you, plus there's mats down there too. You're totally safe so don't you even want to try?"

The red head glanced down at the blue mats that covered the floor below then back to his companion,"What suddenly made you want to teach me anyway?" Wally asked.

Dick shrugged as he spoke, his voice carefully neutral, "I just wanted to share something I love with my best friend, it's pretty thrilling so I thought it might be fun even for a speed demon like you."

Robin ran a hand through his hair, "Plus I thought it would be nice to have someone to train with, it's been a long time since I had a partner up here."

Wally cringed internally as his lightning fast mind put the pieces together. As soon as the words had left Robin's mouth he realized that his friend was, whether he knew it or not, asking him to help fill in for what he'd lost.

In the same instant he realized that he was the best choice for the job.

While Batman could probably learn the mechanics, his body was built for strength and heavy impacts, not at all like his lean, light bodied partner.

No matter how hard he tried he would always be limited by his physique, Wally on the other hand was practically ideal.

He was a runner and his body reflected that truth.

His body was strong, but his muscles were lean and flexible, and though he didn't have the training that Dick did he could probably learn and his speed would help him compensate enough to keep up with Dick's natural talent.

More importantly, he was the only other person in the world that Dick loved and trusted as much as he trusted Bruce and Alfred.

Sure their teammates were important to him and Artemis or M'gann could certainly learn to be a good partner for the young acrobat, but they didn't have the same close relationship that he and the Boy Wonder shared.

The speedster reached out and grasped the bar with strong hands then turned to shoot an apprehensive smile at the younger teen, "Promise you'll be up there with me the whole time?"

Robin handed the bar over then eagerly gripped the trapeze that hung beside Wally's, "Of course! I'll be right there beside you, I promise."

Two and a half hours later they were laughing as they walked out of the training room, Wally's arms were trembling from the exertion and he had a slight limp from a sloppy landing, but he couldn't help but smile at the happiness that he could feel radiating off of his friend.

The younger boy beamed up at him and before he realized what he was saying he heard himself ask, "So, same time tomorrow?"

The muscles in his arms twinged in protest at the mention of another day on the trapeze bars, but the way Dick's face lit up kept him from regretting his words.

Robin threw an arm around his shoulders, "Definitely! Tomorrow I'll teach you to catch me!"

Wally smiled at the Boy Wonder while rubbing at his sore limbs, "Can't wait Buddy, but maybe we should bring a spotter in case I drop you."

Robin twirled on his heel and walked backward so he could face his friend, "Nah, I trust you."

Wally smiled and sped past the other boy toward the kitchen, Dick spun and immediately chased after the older teen.

The pair ran along the hall laughing, sprinting past a puzzled Kaldur shouting half-hearted apologies to their leader when he was forced to dodge to one side.

Their laughter echoed through the cave and the Atlantian smile with amusement and continued on his way shaking his head.


End file.
